THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE 


GanibctUi  jjiorl.iiiniug  the    Htpublic  of  France. 
From  tin-  painting  by  Howard  Pyle. 


A  SHORT  HISTORY   OF 

FRANCE 


BY 

MARY  PLATT  PARMELE 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1907 


Copyright,  1894,  by 
WILLIAM   BEVERLEY   HARISOM 


CoPyRIGHT,    1898,    1905,    1906,   BY 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


1)C 


■^  .^ 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Early  Conditions  in  Gaul i 


CHAPTER  II. 
Julius  Csesar's  Conquest  of  Gaul — Lutetia,       .        .      lo 


CHAPTER  III. 

Birth  of  Christianity — Its  Dissemination — Its  Es- 
pousal by  the  Roman  Empire — Hunnish  In- 
vasion,     15 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Frank  in  Gaul — Clovis — Rois-Fain^ants — 
Charles  Martel — Mahometanism — Pepin  Seizes 
the  Crown 24 

V 


.17.?,'^pf;'> 


vi  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 


PAGE 


Charlemagne — Holy   Roman   Empire — Treaty   of 

Verdun,  .......     36 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Invasions  by  Northmen — Normandy  Given  to  In- 
vaders— Feudalism — Decline  of  Kingship — 
Ascendancy  of  the  Church — Hugh  Capet — 
"Truce  of  God" — William  the  Conqueror,      .     44 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Social  Structure  of  France — Free  Cities — Their 
Creation  and  Enfranchisement — The  Crusades 
— Philip  Augustus — War  with  King  John  of 
England — Toulouse  and  the  Albigensian  War,     56 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Abelard — Louis  IX. — End  of  Crusades — Philip  III. 
— Philip  IV.  and  Papacy — Creation  of  States- 
General — Popes  at  Avignon — Knights  Tem- 
plar Exterminated — Change  in  Succession,       .      68 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Edward  III.  Claims  French  Throne — Crdcy — Poi- 
tiers— Treaty  of  Bretigny — Charles  V.  and 
Bertrand  du  Guesclin — Death  of  Black  Prince 
— Charles  VI. — A  Mad  King — Feud  Between 
Houses  of  Orleans  and  Burgundy — Siege  of 
Orleans — Joan  of  Arc — Charles  VII.,         .        .      79 


CONTENTS.  vii 


CHAPTER  X. 


PAGE 


Standing  Army  Created — Louis  XI. — The  Passing 
of  Mediajvalism — Charles  VIII. — Invasion  of 
Italy — Louis  XII. — Francis  I. — Struggle  for 
Throne  of  the  German  Empire — The  Reforma- 
tion,   gQ 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  House  of  Guise — Marie  Stuart — Francis  II. — 
His  Death — Regency  of  Catharine  de'  Medici 
— Her  Designs — Coligny — Henry  of  Navarre 
— His  Marriage — Charles  IX. — St.  Bartholo- 
mew's Eve — Henry  III. — His  Death — Henry 
of  Navarre  King, n^ 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Edict  of  Nantes — Ravaillac — Louis  XIII. — Re- 
gency of  Maria  de'  Medici — Richelieu — The 
Fronde, i,q 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Louis  XIV. — Four  Great  Wars — Revocation  of 
Edict  of  Nantes — A  Victorious  Coalition — 
Death  of  Louis  XIV. — Louis  XV 145 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

John  Law — Life  at  Versailles — Marriage  of  Dau- 
phin— Unseen  Currents — Approaching  Crisis — 
Death  of  Louis  XV., 161 


-vui  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

PAGE 

Louis  XVI. — American  Revolution  —  Turgot — 
Necker — States-General  Summoned — National 
Assembly  —  Destruction  of  Bastille  —  Revo- 
lution— Lafayette — Varennes — The  Temple — 
Triumphant  Jacobins — Execution  of  the  King 
— Charlotte  Corday — Execution  of  Queen — 
Fate  of  the  Dauphin — Girondists — Philippe 
Egalitd — Revolution  Ended,       .        .        .        .174 

CHAPTER  XVL 

France  a  Republic — Napoleon  Bonaparte — Break- 
ing Chains  in  Italy — Campo  Formio — Campaign 
in  Egypt — An  Empire — Rapid  Steps  from  Tou- 
lon to  Versailles — A  New  Map  of  Europe — Maria 
Louisa — Moscow — Leipsic — Elba,       .        .        .  202 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Louis  XVIII. — Return  of  Napoleon — Waterloo — 
St.  Helena — Bourbon  Restoration — Charles  X. 
— Louis  Philippe  —  Revolution  —  Second  Re- 
public— Louis  Napoleon 216 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Second  French  Republic — The  Coup  d'Etat — Na- 
poleon III. — A  "  Liberator  "  in  Italy — Peace  of 
Villafranca — Suez  Canal — An  Empire  in  Mex- 
ico— Franco-Prussian  War — Sedan,    .        .        .228 


CONTENTS.  IX 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

PACE 

Third  French  Republic — The  Commune— The  Ger- 
mans in  Paris — Reconstruction  from  Thiers  to 
Loubet — Afifaire  Dreyfus — Law  of  Associations 
— Separation  of  Church  and  State — Conference 
at  Algeciras — Election  of  M.  FalliSres — Con- 
clusion,   242 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Gambetta  proclaiming  the  Republic  of  France 

Frontispiece 


FACING 
PAGE 


Coronation  of  Charlemagne 3S 

Burning  of  Joan  of  Arc  at  Rouen,  May  30,  143 1  92 

Napoleon  at  the  Battle  of  Rivoli,  January  14. 

1797 204 

Josephine  crowned  Empress,  December  2,  1804, 

in  Notre  Dame  Cathedral 214 

The  Revolution  of  July  28,  1830    ....  222 


A    SHORT    HISTORY   OF    FRANCE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

One  of  the  greatest  achievements  of  modern 
research  is  the  discovery  of  a  key  by  which  we 
may  determine  the  kinship  of  nations.  What 
we  used  to  conjecture,  we  now  know.  An 
identity  in  the  structural  form  of  language  es- 
tablishes with  scientific  certitude  that  however 
diverse  their  character  and  civiHzations,  Rus- 
sian, German,  Englishman,  Frenchman,  Span- 
iard, are  all  but  branches  from  the  same  parent 
stem,  are  all  alike  children  of  the  Asiatic 
Aryan. 

So  skilful  are  modem  methods  of  question- 
ing the  past,  and  so  determined  the  effort  to 
find  out  its  secrets,  we  may  yet  know  the  origin 
and  history  of  this  wonderful  Asiatic  people, 
and  when  and  why  they  left  their  native  con- 
tinent and  colonized  upon  the  northern  shores 


2  A    SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

of  the  Mediterranean.  Certain  it  is,  however, 
that,  more  centuries  before  the  Christian  era 
than  there  have  been  since,  they  had  peopled 
Western  Europe. 

This  branch  of  the  Aryan  family  is  known  as 
the  Keltic,  and  was  older  brother  to  the  Teuton 
and  Slav,  which  at  a  much  later  period  followed 
them  from  the  ancestral  home,  and  appropri- 
ated the  middle  and  eastern  portions  of  the 
European  Continent. 

The  name  of  Gaul  was  given  to  the  territory 
lying  between  the  Ocean  and  the  Mediter- 
ranean, and  the  Pyrenees  and  the  Alps.  And 
at  a  later  period  a  portion  of  Northern  Gaul, 
and  the  islands  lying  north  of  it,  received  from 
an  invading  chieftain  and  his  tribe  the  name 
Brit  or  Britain  (or  Pryd  or  Prydain). 

If  the  mind  could  be  carried  back  on  the 
track  of  time,  and  we  could  see  what  we  now 
call  France  as  it  existed  twenty  centuries  before 
the  Christian  era,  we  should  behold  the  same 
natural  features :  the  same  mountains  rearing 
their  heads ;  the  same  rivers  flowing  to  the  sea ; 
the  same  plains  stretching  out  in  the  sunHght. 
But  instead  of  vines  and  flowers  and  cultivated 
fields  we  should  behold  great  herds  of  wild  ox 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  3 

and  elk,  and  of  swine  as  fierce  as  wolves,  rang- 
ing in  a  climate  as  cold  as  Norway;  and  vast, 
inaccessible  forests,  the  home  of  beasts  of  prey, 
which  contended  with  man  for  food  and  shelter. 

Let  us  read  Guizot's  description  of  life  in 
Gaul  five  centuries  before  Christ : 

"  Here  lived  six  or  seven  millions  of  men  a 
bestial  life,  in  dwellings  dark  and  low,  built  of 
wood  and  clay  and  covered  with  branches  or 
straw,  open  to  daylight  by  the  door  alone  and 
confusedly  heaped  together  behind  a  rampart 
of  timber,  earth,  and  stone,  which  enclosed  and 
protected  what  they  were  pleased  to  call — a 
tomn." 

Such  was  the  Paris  and  such  the  Frenchmen 
of  the  age  of  Pericles!  And  the  same  tides 
that  washed  the  sands  of  Southern  Gaul,  a  few 
hours  later  ebbed  and  flowed  upon  the  shores 
of  Greece — rich  in  culture,  with  refinements 
and  subtleties  in  art  wdiich  are  the  despair  of 
the  world  to-day — with  an  intellectual  endow- 
ment never  since  attained  by  any  people. 

The  same  sun  which  rose  upon  temples  and 
palaces  and  life  serene  and  beautiful  in  Greece, 
an  hour  later  lighted  sacrificial  altars  and  hid- 
eous orgies  in  the  forests  of  Gaul.     While  the 


4  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  . 

Gaul  was  nailing  the  heads  of  human  victims 
to  his  door,  or  hanging  them  from  the  bridle 
of  his  horse,  or  burning  or  flogging  his  pris- 
oners to  death,  the  Greek,  with  a  literature,  an 
art,  and  a  civilization  in  ripest  perfection,  dis- 
cussed with  his  friends  the  deepest  problems 
of  life  and  destiny,  which  were  then  baffling 
human  intelligence,  even  as  they  are  with  us  to- 
day. Truly  we  of  Keltic  and  Teuton  descent 
are  late-comers  upon  the  stage  of  national 
life. 

There  was  no  promise  of  greatness  in  an- 
cient Gaul.  It  was  a  great,  unregulated  force, 
rushing  hither  and  thither.  Impelled  by  in- 
satiate greed  for  the  possessions  of  their  neigh- 
bors, there  was  no  permanence  in  their  loves 
or  their  hatreds.  The  enemies  of  to-day  were 
the  allies  of  to-morrow.  Guided  entirely  by 
the  fleeting  desires  and  passions  of  the  moment, 
with  no  far-reaching  plans  to  restrain,  the  sixty 
or  more  tribes  composing  the  Gallic  people 
were  in  perpetual  state  of  feud  and  anarchy, 
apparently  insensible  to  the  ties  of  brotherhood, 
which  give  concert  of  action,  and  stability  in 
form  of  national  life.  If  they  overran  a  neigh- 
boring country,  it  seemed  not  so  much  for  per- 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  $ 

manent  acquisition,  as  to  make  it  a  camping- 
ground  until  its  resources  were  exhausted. 

We  read  of  one  Massillia  who  came  with  a 
colony  of  Greeks  long  ages  ago,  and  after 
founding  the  city  of  Marseilles,  created  a  nar- 
row, bright  border  of  Greek  civilization  along 
the  southern  edge  of  the  benighted  land.  It 
was  a  brief  illumination,  lasting  only  a  century 
or  more,  and  leaving  few  traces ;  but  it  may 
account  for  the  superior  intellectual  quality 
which  later  distinguished  Provence,  the  home 
of  minstrelsy. 

It  requires  a  vast  extent  of  territory  to  sus- 
tain a  people  living  by  the  chase,  and  upon 
herds  and  flocks;  hence  the  area  which  now 
amply  maintains  forty  millions  of  Frenchmen 
was  all  too  small  for  six  or  seven  million  Gauls ; 
and  they  were  in  perpetual  struggle  with  their 
neighbors  for  land — more  land. 

"  Give  us  land,"  they  said  to  the  Romans, 
and  when  land  was  denied  them  and  the  gates 
of  cities  disdainfully  closed  upon  their  mes- 
sengers, not  land,  but  vengeance,  was  their  cry  ; 
and  hordes  of  half-naked  barbarians  trampled 
down  the  vineyards,  and  rushed,  a  tumultuous 
torrent,  upon  Rome. 


6  A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  , 

The  Romans  could  not  stand  before  this  new 
and  strange  kind  of  warfare.  The  Gauls 
streamed  over  the  vanquished  legions  into  the 
Eternal  City,  silent  and  deserted  save  only  by 
the  Senate  and  a  few  who  remained  intrenched 
in  the  Citadel;  and  there  the  barbarians  kept 
them  besieged  for  seven  months,  while  they 
made  themselves  at  home  amid  uncompre- 
hended  luxuries. 

Of  course  Roman  skill  and  courage  at  last 
dislodged  and  drove  them  back.  But  the  fact 
remained  that  the  Gaul  had  been  there — mas- 
ter of  Rome ;  that  the  iron-clad  legions  had  been 
no  match  for  his  naked  force,  and  a  new  sen- 
sation thrilled  through  the  length  and  breadth 
of  Gaul.  It  was  the  first  throb  of  national  life. 
The  sixty  or  more  fragments  drew  closer  to- 
gether into  something  like  Gallic  unity — with 
a  common  danger  to  meet,  a  common  foe  to 
drive  back. 

Hereafter  there  was  another  hunger  to  be 
appeased  besides  that  for  food  and  land;  a 
hunger  for  conquest,  for  vengeance,  and  for 
glory  for  the  Gallic  name.  National  pride  was 
born. 

For  years  they  hovered  like  wolves  about 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  J 

Rome.  But  skill  and  superior  intelligence  tell 
in  the  centuries.  It  took  long — and  cost  no 
end  of  blood  and  treasure;  but  two  hundred 
years  from  the  capture  of  Rome,  the  Gauls 
were  driven  out  of  Italy,  and  the  Alps  pro- 
nounced a  barrier  set  by  nature  herself  against 
barbarian  encroachments. 

Italy  was  not  the  only  country  suffering 
from  the  destroying  footsteps  of  the  Western 
Kelts.  There  had  been  long  before  an  overflow 
of  a  tribe  in  Northern  Gaul  (the  Kymrians), 
which  had  hewed  and  plundered  its  way  south 
and  eastward;  until  at  the  time  of  Alexander 
(B.C.  340)  it  was  knocking  at  the  gates  of 
Macedonia. 

Stimulated  by  the  success  at  Rome  fifty  years 
earlier,  they  were,  with  fresh  insolence,  de- 
manding "  land,"  and  during  the  centuries 
which  followed,  the  Gallic  name  acquired  no 
fresh  lustre  in  Greece.  Half-naked,  gross, 
ferocious,  and  ignorant,  sometimes  allies,  but 
always  a  scourge,  they  finally  crossed  the 
Hellespont  (b.c.  278),  and  turned  their  atten- 
tion to  Asia  Minor.  And  there,  at  last,  we 
find  them  settled  in  a  province  called  GalHcia, 
where  they  lived  without  amalgamating  with 


8  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

the  people  about  them,  and  four  hundred  years 
after  Christ  were  speaking-  the  language  of 
their  tribal  home  in  what  is  now  Belgium. 
And  these  were  the  Galatians — the  "  foolish 
Galatians,"  to  whom  Paul  addressed  his  epistle; 
and  we  have  followed  up  this  Gallic  thread 
simply  because  it  mingles  with  the  larger  strand 
of  ancient  and  sacred  history  with  which  we 
are  all  so  familiar. 

It  is  not  strange  that  Roman  courage  became 
a  byword.  The  fibre  of  Rome  was  toughened 
by  perpetual  strain  of  conflict.  Even  while 
she  was  struggling  with  Gaul  and  with  the 
memories  of  the  Carthaginian  wars  still  fresh 
at  Rome,  the  Goths  were  at  her  gates — their 
blows  directed  with  a  solidity  superior  to  that 
of  the  barbarians  who  had  preceded  them. 
Where  the  Gauls  had  knocked,  the  Goths  thun- 
dered. 

Again  the  city  was  invaded  by  barbarian 
feet,  and  again  did  superior  training  and  in- 
telligence drive  back  the  invading  torrent  and 
triumph  over  native  brute  force. 

Such,  in  brief  outline,  was  the  condition  of 
the  centuries  just  before  the  Christian  era. 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  g 

It  is  easy  now  to  read  the  meaning  of  these 
agitated  centuries,  and  to  recognize  the  prepa- 
ration for  the  passing  of  the  old  and  the  com- 
ing of  the  new. 


CHAPTER   II. 

The  making  of  a  nation  is  not  unlike  bread 
or  cake  making.  One  element  is  used  as  the 
basis,  to  which  are  added  other  component 
parts,  of  varying  qualities,  and  the  result  we 
call  England,  or  Germany,  or  France.  The 
steps  by  which  it  is  accomplished,  the  blending 
and  fusing  of  the  elements,  require  centuries, 
and  the  process  makes  what  we  call — history. 

It  was  written  in  the  book  of  fate  that  Gaul 
should  become  a  great  nation;  but  not  until 
fused  and  interpenetrated  with  two  other  na- 
tionalities. She  must  first  be  humanized  and 
civilized  by  the  Roman,  and  then  energized  and 
made  free  from  the  Roman  by  the  Teuton. 

The  instrument  chosen  for  the  former  was 
Julius  Caesar,  and  for  the  latter — ^five  centuries 
later — Clovis,  the  Frankish  leader. 

It  is  safe  to  affirm  that  no  man  has  ever  so 
changed  the  course  of  human  events  as  did 
Julius  Caesar.  Napoleon,  who  strove  to  imi- 
tate him  1800  years  later,  was  a  charlatan  in 


A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.  il 

comparison;  a  mere  scene-shifter  on  a  great 
theatrical  stage.  Few  traces  of  his  work  re- 
main upon  humanity  to-day. 

Csesar  opened  up  a  pathway  for  the  old  civili- 
zations of  the  world  to  flow  into  Western 
Europe,  and  the  sodden  mass  of  barbarism  was 
infused  with  a  life-compelling  current.  This 
was  not  accomplished  by  placing  before  the  in- 
ferior race  a  higher  ideal  of  life  for  imitation, 
but  by  a  mingling  of  the  blood  of  the  nations 
— a  transfusion  into  Gallic  veins  of  the  germs 
of  a  higher  living  and  thinking — thus  making 
them  heirs  to  the  great  civilizations  of  antiquity. 

Was  any  human  event  ever  fraught  with 
such  consequences  to  the  human  race  as  the  con- 
quest of  Gaul  by  Julius  Csesar? 

The  Gallic  wars  had  for  centuries  drained 
the  treasure  and  taxed  the  resources  of  Rome. 
Caesar  conceived  the  audacious  idea  of  stopping 
them  at  their  source — in  fact,  of  making  Gaul 
a  Roman  province. 

It  was  a  marvellous  exhibition,  not  simply 
of  force,  but  of  force  wielded  by  supreme  in- 
telligence and  craft.  He  had  lived  many  years 
among  this  people  and  knew  their  sources  of 
weakness,  their  internal  jealousies  and  rivalries, 


12  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

their  incohesiveness.  When  they  hurled  them- 
selves against  Rome,  it  was  as  a  mass  of  sharp 
fragments.  When  the  Goths  did  the  same,  it 
was  as  one  solid,  indivisible  body.  Csesar  saw 
that  by  adroit  management  he  could  disinte- 
grate this  people  while  conquering  them. 

By  forcibly  maintaining  in  power  those  who 
submitted  to  him,  being  by  turns  gentle  and 
severe,  ingratiating  here,  terrifying  there,  he 
established  a  tremendous  personal  force;  and 
during  nine  years  carried  on  eight  campaigns, 
marvels  in  the  art  of  war,  as  well  as  in  the 
subtler  methods  of  negotiation  and  intrigue. 
He  had  successively  dealt  with  all  the  Keltic 
tribes,  even  including  Great  Britain,  subjugat- 
ing either  through  their  own  rivalries,  or  by 
his  invincible  arm. 

Equally  able  to  charm  and  to  terrify,  he  had 
all  the  gifts,  all  the  means  to  success  and  em- 
pire, that  can  be  possessed  by  man.  Great  in 
politics  as  in  war,  as  full  of  resource  in  the 
forum  as  on  the  battle-field,  he  was  by  nature 
called  to  dominion. 

It  was  not  as  a  patriot,  simply  intent  upon 
freeing  Rome  of  an  harassing  enemy,  that  he 
endured  those  nine  years  in  Gaul;  not  as  a 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  13 

great  leader  burning  with  military  ardor  that 
he  conducted  those  eight  campaigns.  The  con- 
quest of  Gaul  meant  the  greater  conquest  of 
Rome.  The  one  was  accomplished;  he  now 
turned  his  back  upon  the  devastated  country, 
and  prepared  to  complete  his  great  project  of 
human  ascendency. 

Rome  was  mistress  of  the  world ;  he — would 
be  master  of  Rome. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  conquest  of  Gaul  a 
small  island  lying  in  the  river  Seine  was  chosen 
for  the  residence  of  the  Roman  Governors,  and 
called  Liitetia.  The  residence  soon  grew  into 
the  Palace  of  the  Caesars;  and  then  bridges 
spanned  the  river,  and  roads  and  aqueducts 
and  faubourgs  sprang  into  existence  across  the 
Seine,  and  Lutetia  was  swallowed  up  in  Paris — 
so  named  for  a  Gallic  tribe,  the  Parisii,  which 
had  once  encamped  there.  Standing  within 
the  Palais  de  Justice  on  this  island  to-day,  one 
is  in  direct  touch  with  Rome  when  she  was  mis- 
tress of  the  world.  The  feet  of  the  Caesars 
have  pressed  those  stones.  Those  vaulted  ceil- 
ings have  looked  down  upon  Julian  the  Apos- 
tate; he  who  upon  his  throne  in  the  far  East 
sighed  for  "  Lutetia  " — his  "  dear  Lutetia." 


14  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

At  Passy  and  Montmartre,  and  where  stands 
the  Palais  Royal,  rich  Romans  had  their  subur- 
ban homes,  and  Roman  legions  were  encamped 
where  are  now  the  Palais  de  Luxembourg  and 
the  Sorbonne.  And  with  a  mingling  of  Keltic 
and  Latin,  there  had  commenced  a  new  form 
of  human  speech. 

Not  Paris  alone,  but  all  of  Gaul  felt  the  awak- 
ening touch  of  a  great  civilization,  and  with 
improved  ideals  in  living  there  came  another 
great  advance.  The  human  sacrifices  and  ab- 
horrent practices  of  the  Druidical  faith  were 
abandoned,  and  Jupiter  and  Minerva  and  the 
gods  of  Parnassus  supplanted  the  grim  deities 
of  a  more  ancient  mythology.  But  while  Rome 
was  a  powerful  teacher,  she  was  a  cruel  mis- 
tress— and  shackles  were  galling  to  these  free 
barbarians.  In  the  midst  of  universal  misery 
there  came  tidings  of  something  better  than  the 
gods  of  Parnassus,  when  in  a.d.  i6o  Irenseus 
came  to  Lyons  and  there  established  the  first 
Church  of  Christ ;  and  here  it  was  that  Marcus 
Aurelius  ordered  the  persecution  which  was 
intended  to  stamp  out  the  new  and  fanatical 
heresy. 


CHAPTER    III. 

While  the  Star  of  Empire  was  thus  moving 
toward  the  West,  another  and  brighter  star  had 
arisen  in  the  East.  So  accustomed  are  we  to 
the  story,  that  we  lose  all  sense  of  wonder  at 
its  recital. 

Julius  Caesar's  brief  triumph  was  over. 
Marc  Antony  had  recited  his  virtues  over  his 
bier,  Rome  had  wept,  and  then  forgotten  him 
in  the  absorbing  splendors  of  his  nephew  Au- 
gustus. In  an  obscure  village  of  an  obscure 
country  in  Asia  Minor  the  young  wife  of  a 
peasant  finds  shelter  in  a  stable,  and  gives  birth 
to  a  son,  who  is  cradled  in  the  straw  of  a 
manger  from  which  the  cattle  are  feeding. 

Can  the  mind  conceive  of  human  circum- 
stances more  lowly?  The  child  grew  to  man- 
hood, and  in  his  thirty-three  years  of  life  was 
never  lifted  above  the  obscure  sphere  into  which 
he  was  bom;  never  spoke  from  the  vantage- 
ground  of  worldly  elevation;  simply  moving 
IS 


l6  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

among  people  of  his  own  station  in  life,  me- 
chanics, fishermen,  and  peasants,  he  told  of  a 
religion  of  love,  a  gospel  of  peace,  for  which 
he  was  willing  to  die. 

Who  would  have  dreamed  that  this  was  the 
germ  of  the  most  potent,  the  most  regener- 
ative force  the  world  had  ever  known?  That 
thrones,  empires,  principalities,  and  powers 
would  melt  and  crumble  before  His  name? 
Of  all  miracles,  is  not  this  the  greatest? 

The  passionate  ardor  with  which  this  re- 
ligion was  propagated  in  the  first  two  centuries 
had  no  motive  but  the  yearning  to  make  others 
share  in  its  benefits  and  hopes;  and  to  this  end 
to  accept  the  belief  that  Jesus  Christ  had  come 
in  fulfilment  of  the  promise  of  a  Saviour — who 
should  be  sent  to  this  world  clothed  with 
divine  authority  to  establish  a  spiritual  king- 
dom, in  which  he  was  King  of  kings,  Lord  of 
lords.  Meditator  between  us  and  the  Father, 
of  whom  he  was  the  "  only  begotten  Son." 

The  religion  in  its  essence  was  absolutely 
simple.  Its  founder  summed  it  up  in  two  sen- 
tences :  expressing  the  duty  of  man  to  man, 
and  of  man  to  God.  That  was  all  the  theol- 
ogy he  formulated. 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  17 

For  two  centuries  the  religion  of  Christ  was 
an  elemental  spiritual  force.  It  appealed  only 
to  the  highest  attributes  and  longings  of  the 
human  soul,  and  under  its  sustaining  influence 
frail  women,  men,  and  even  children  were  able 
to  endure  tortures,  of  which  we  cannot  read 
even  now  without  shuddering  horror. 

Nature's  method  of  gardening  is  very  beau- 
tiful. She  carefully  guards  the  seed  until  it  is 
ripe,  then  she  bursts  the  imprisoning  walls  and 
gives  it  to  the  winds  to  distribute.  Precisely 
such  method  was  used  in  disseminating  Chris- 
tianity. It  was  not  for  one  people — it  was  for 
the  healing  of  the  nations,  and  its  home  was 
wherever  man  abides. 

Nearly  five  decades  after  Christ's  death  upon 
the  cross,  Jerusalem  was  destroyed  by  Titus. 
The  home  of  Christianity  was  effaced.  At  just 
the  right  moment  the  enclosing  walls  had 
broken,  and  freed  to  the  winds  the  germs  in  all 
their  primitive  purity. 

Imperial  favor  had  not  tarnished  it,  human 
ambitions  had  not  employed  and  degraded  it, 
nor  had  it  been  made  into  complex  system  by 
ingenious  casuists.     The  pure  spiritual  truth. 


l8  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  , 

unsullied  as  it  came  from  the  hand  of  its 
founder,  was  scattered  broadcast,  as  the  band 
of  Christians  dispersed  throughout  the  Roman 
Empire,  naturally  forming  into  communities 
here  and  there,  which  became  the  centres  of 
Christian  propagandism.  Lyons  in  Gaul  was 
such  a  centre. 

The  fires  of  persecution  had  been  lighted 
here  and  there  throughout  the  empire,  and  the 
Emperor  Nero,  under  whom  the  Apostles  Peter 
and  Paul  are  said  to  have  suffered  martyrdom, 
had  amused  himself  by  making  torches  of  the 
Christians  at  Rome.  But  until  a.d.  177  Gaul 
was  exempt  from  such  horrors. 

Marcus  Aurelius — that  peerless  pagan — 
large  in  intelligence,  exalted  in  character,  and 
guided  by  a  conscientious  rectitude  which  has 
made  his  name  shine  like  a  star  in  the  lurid  light 
of  Roman  history,  still  failed  utterly  to  compre- 
hend the  significance  of  this  spiritual  kingdom 
established  by  Christ  on  earth.  He  it  was  who 
ordered  the  first  persecution  in  Gaul.  In  pur- 
suance of  his  command,  horrible  tortures  were 
inflicted  at  Lyons  upon  those  who  would  not 
abjure  the  new  faith. 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  19 

A  letter,  written  by  an  eye-witness,  pictures 
with  terrible  vividness  the  scenes  which  fol- 
lowed. Many  cases  are  described  with  harrow- 
ing detail,  and  of  one  Blandina  it  is  said : 
"  From  morn  till  eve  they  put  her  to  all  man- 
ner of  torture,  marvelling  that  she  still  lived 
with  her  body  pierced  through  and  through 
and  torn  piecemeal  by  so  many  tortures,  of 
which  a  single  one  should  have  sufficed  to  kill 
her;  to  which  she  only  replied,  '  I  am  a  Chris- 
tian.' " 

The  recital  goes  on  to  tell  how  she  was  then 
cast  into  a  dungeon — her  feet  compressed  and 
dragged  out  to  the  utmost  tension  of  the  mus- 
cles— then  left  alone  in  darkness  until  new 
methods  of  torture  could  be  devised. 

Finally  she  was  brought,  with  other  Chris- 
tians, into  the  amphitheatre,  h,anging  from  a 
cross  to  which  she  was  tied,  and  there  thrown 
to  the  beasts.  As  the  beasts  refused  to  touch 
her  she  was  taken  back  to  the  dungeon  to  be 
reserved  for  another  occasion,  being  brought 
out  daily  to  witness  the  fate  and  suffering  of 
her  friends  and  fellow-martyrs ;  still  answering 
the  oft-repeated  question,  "  I  am  a  Christian." 

The  writer  goes  on  to  say,  "  After  she  had 


20  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

undergone  fire,  the  talons  of  beasts,  and  every 
agony  which  could  be  thought  of,  she  was 
wrapped  in  a  network  and  thrown  to  a  bull, 
who  tossed  her  in  the  air  " — and  her  sufferings 
were  ended. 

Truly  it  cost  something  to  say  "  I  am  a  Chris- 
tian "  in  those  days. 

Marcus  Aurelius  probably  gave  orders  for 
the  persecution  at  Lyons,  with  little  knowledge 
of  what  would  be  the  nature  of  those  persecu- 
tions, or  of  the  religion  he  was  trying  to  ex- 
terminate. Some  of  the  hours  spent  in  writing 
introspective  essays  would  have  been  well  em- 
ployed in  studying  the  period  in  which  he  livedo 
and  the  empire  he  ruled. 

Paganism  and  Druidism,  those  twin  mon- 
sters, receded  before  the  advancing  light  of 
Christianity.  Neither  contained  anything  which 
could  nourish  the  soul  of  man,  and  both  had 
become  simply  badges  of  nationality. 

Druidism  was  the  last  stronghold  of  inde- 
pendent Gallic  life.  It  was  a  mixture  of  north- 
ern myth  and  oriental  dreams  of  metempsycho- 
sis, coarse,  mystical,  and  cruel.  The  Roman 
paganism  which  was  superimposed  by  the  con- 
quering race  was  the  mere  shell  of  a  once  vital 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  21 

religion.  Educated  men  had  long  ceased  to 
believe  in  the  gods  and  divinities  of  Greece,  and 
it  is  said  that  the  Roman  augurs,  while  giving 
their  solemn  prophetic  utterances,  could  not 
look  at  each  other  without  laughing. 

In  the  year  312 — alas  for  Christianity! — it 
was  espoused  by  imperial  power.  When  the 
Emperor  Constantine  declared  himself  a  Chris- 
tian, there  was  no  doubt  rejoicing  among  the 
saints ;  but  it  was  the  beginning  of  the  degen- 
eracy of  the  religion  of  Christ.  The  faith  of 
the  humble  was  to  be  raised  to  a  throne;  its 
lowly  garb  to  be  exchanged  for  purple  and  scar- 
let; the  gospel  of  peace  to  be  enforced  by  the 
sword. 

The  empire  was  crumbling,  and  upon  its 
ruins  the  race  of  the  future  and  social  condi- 
tions of  modern  times  were  forming.  Pagan- 
ism and  Druidism,  would  have  been  an  im- 
possibility. Christianity,  even  with  Its  lustre 
dimmed,  its  purity  tarnished,  its  simplicity 
overlaid  with  scholasticism,  was  better  than 
these.  The  miracle  had  been  accomplished. 
The  great  Roman  Empire  had  said,  "  I  am 
Christian." 


22  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

A  belief  in  the  gods  of  Parnassus,  which 
Rome  had  imposed  upon  Gaul,  had  now  become 
a  heresy  to  be  exterminated.  If  fires  were 
lighted  at  Lyons  or  elsewhere,  they  were  for 
the  extermination  not  of  Christians,  but  of 
pagans,  and  of  all  who  would  depart  from  the 
religion  of  Christ  as  interpreted  by  Rome.  It 
was  a  death-bed  repentance  for  the  cruel  old 
empire,  a  repentance  which  might  delay,  but 
could  not  avert  a  calamitous  ending,  and  an  un- 
expected event  was  near  at  hand  which  would 
hasten  the  coming  of  the  end. 

It  was  in  the  year  a.d.  375  that  the  Huns, 
a  terrible  race  of  beings,  came  out  from  that 
then  mysterious  but  now  historic  region,  lying 
between  China  and  Russia,  and  surged  into 
Europe  under  the  leadership  of  Attila,  sweep- 
ing before  them  as  they  came  Goths,  Vandals, 
and  other  Teutonic  races,  as  if  with  a  pre- 
determined purpose  of  forcing  the  uncivilized 
Teuton  into  the  lap  of  a  perishing  civilization 
in  the  south.  Then  having  accomplished  this, 
after  the  defeat  of  Attila  at  Chalons  in  a.d. 
453,  they  disappeared  forever  as  a  race  from 
the  stage  of  human  events. 

This  is  the  time  when  Paris  was  saved  by 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  23 

Genevieve,  the  poor  sheperdess,  who,  hke  an 
early  Joan  of  Arc,  awoke  the  people  from  the 
apathy  of  despair,  and  led  them  to  victory — and 
is  rewarded  by  an  immortality  as  "  Saint  Gene- 
vieve," the  patron  saint  of  Paris.  It  would 
seem  that  the  vigilance  of  the  gentle  saint  has 
either  slept  or  been  unequal  to  the  task  of  pro- 
tecting her  city  at  times ! 

It  was  the  combined  forces  of  the  Goth  and 
the  Frank  which  drove  this  scourge  out  of 
Europe.  Meroveus,  or  Meroveg,  the  leader  of 
the  Franks  in  this  great  achievement,  once  the 
terror  of  the  Gallic  people,  was  now  their  de- 
liverer. He  had  won  the  gratitude  of  all 
classes,  from  bishops  to  slaves,  throughout 
Gaul,  and  fate  had  thus  opened  wide  a  door 
leading  into  the  future  of  that  land. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

Gaul  had  been  Latinized  and  Christianized. 
Now  one  more  thing  was  needed  to  prepare  her 
for  a  great  future.  Her  fibre  was  to  be  tough- 
ened by  the  infusion  of  a  stronger  race.  JuHus 
Caesar  had  shaken  her  into  submission,  and 
Rome  had  chastised  her  into  decency  of  be- 
havior and  speech,  but  as  her  manners  improved 
her  native  vigor  decHned.  She  took  kindly  to 
Roman  luxury  and  effeminacy,  and  could  no 
longer  have  thundered  at  the  gates  of  her  neigh- 
bors demanding  "  land." 

The  despotism  of  a  perishing  Roman  Em- 
pire had  become  intolerable;  and  the  thoughts 
of  an  overtaxed  and  enslaved  people  turned 
naturally  to  the  Franks.  They  had  rescued 
them  from  one  terrible  fate,  might  they  not  de- 
liver them  from  another?  And  so  it  came 
about  that  the  young  savage  Chlodoveg,  or 
Clovis,  grandson  of  Meroveus,  found  himself 
24 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  2$ 

master  of  the  fair  land  long  coveted  beyond 
the  Rhine;  and  Gaul  and  Roman  alike  were 
submerged  beneath  the  Teuton  flood,  while 
Qovis,  sitting  in  the  Palace  of  the  Caesars,  on 
the  island  in  the  Seine,  was  wearing  the  kingly 
crown,  and  independent  and  dynastic  life  had 
commenced  in  what  was  hereafter  to  be  not 
Gaul,  but  Frmue. 

But  the  king  of  whom  she  had  dreamed  was 
of  her  own  race ;  not  this  terrible  Frank.  Had 
she  exchanged  one  servitude  for  another? 
Had  she  been,  not  set  free,  but  simply  annexed 
to  the  realm  of  the  barbarian  across  the  Rhine? 
Let  us  say  rather  that  it  was  an  espousal.  She 
had  brought  her  dowry  of  beauty  and  "  land," 
that  most  coveted  of  possessions,  and  had 
pledged  obedience,  for  which  she  was  to  be 
cherished,  honored,  and  protected,  and  to  bear 
the  name  of  her  lord. 

It  will  be  well  not  to  examine  too  closely  the 
conversion  of  Clovis  to  Christianity,  any  more 
than  that  of  Constantine  to  the  religion  of 
Christ,  or  that  of  Henry  VUI.  to  Protestantism. 
The  only  thing  Clovis  wanted  of  the  gods  was 
aid  in  destroying  his  enemies.  At  a  certain 
dark  moment,  when  the  pagan  deities  failed 


26  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

him,  and  the  tide  of  battle  was  turning  against 
him,  in  desperation  he  offered  to  become  a 
Christian,  if  the  God  of  the  Christians  would 
save  him.  He  kept  his  word.  His  victory 
was  followed  by  Christian  baptism,  and  the 
Church  had  won  a  great  defender,  whose  fero- 
cious instincts  were  thereafter  to  be  directed 
toward  the  extermination  of  unbelievers.  And 
while  hewing  and  consolidating  and  bringing 
his  kingdom  into  form,  whether  by  treacheries 
or  intrigues  or  assassination,  this  converted 
Frank  was  not  alone  defender  of  the  faith, 
but  of  the  orthodox  faith.  The  Visigoth  king- 
dom in  Spain  was  given  over  to  that  heresy 
known  as  Arianism!  So  in  a  crusade,  like 
another  of  a  later  date,  he  swept  them  over 
beyond  the  Pyrenees,  thus  establishing  a  fron- 
tier which  always  remained. 

Such  were  the  rough  beginnings  of  France, 
geographically  and  historically. 

Ancient  heroes  are  said  to  be  seen  through 
a  shadowy  lens,  which  magnifies  their  stature. 
Let  us  hope  that  the  crimes  of  the  three  o-r  four 
generations  immediately  succeeding  Clovis  have 
been  in  like  manner  expanded ;  for  it  is  sicken- 
ing to  read  of  such  monstrous  prodigality  of 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  27 

wickedness;  whole  families  butchered — hus- 
bands, wives,  children,  anything  obstructing 
the  path  to  the  throne — with  an  atrocity  which 
makes  Richard  III.  seem  a  mere  pigmy  in  the 
art  of  intrigue  and  killing.  The  chapter  closes 
with  the  daughter  and  mother  of  kings  (Brun- 
hilde  or  Brunhaut),  naked,  and  tied  by  one  arm, 
one  leg,  and  her  hair  to  the  tail  of  an  unbroken 
horse,  and  amid  jeers  and  shouts  dashed  over 
the  stones  of  Paris  (a.d.  600). 

Upon  the  death  of  Clovis  his  inheritance  was 
divided  among  four  sons,  who,  with  their  wives 
and  families  and  their  tempestuous  passions, 
afforded  material  for  a  great  epic.  Whether 
Fredegunde  or  Brunhilde  was  the  more  terrible 
who  can  say?  But  the  story  of  these  rival 
queens,  with  their  loves  and  their  hatreds  and 
their  ambitious,  vengeful  fury,  is  more  like  the 
story  of  demons  than  of  women.  But  these 
conditions  led  to  two  results  which  played  a 
great  part  in  subsequent  events.  One  was  the 
exclusion  of  women  from  the  succession  by  the 
adoption  of  the  Salic  Law.  Then,  in  order  to 
curb  the  degeneracy  or  to  reinforce  the  in- 
efficiency of  the  hereditary  ruler,  there  was 
created  the  office  of  Maire  du  Palais,  a  modest 


28  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

title  which  contained  the  germ  of  the  future^ 
not  alone  of  France,  but  of  the  world. 

To  imperfect  human  vision  it  would  have 
seemed  at  the  time  a  fatal  mistake  to  bury  out 
of  sight  the  refinements  which  a  Latin  civiliza- 
tion had  been  for  nearly  five  centuries  planting 
in  Gaul.  But  so  often  has  this  been  repeated 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  one  is  compelled 
to  recognize  it  as  a  part  of  the  evolutionary 
method.  Again  and  again  have  we  seen  old 
civilizations  effaced  by  barbarians.  But  these 
barbarians  with  their  coarseness  and  brutality 
have  usually  brought  something  better  than  re- 
finement ;  a  spirit  so  transforming,  so  vitalizing, 
that  we  are  compelled  to  believe  it  was  the  end 
sought  in  the  catastrophe  we  deplore:  that  is, 
a  spirit  of  liberty,  a  sense  of  personal  inde- 
pendence, without  which  the  refinements  of 
art,  even  reinforced  by  genius,  are  unavailing. 
Such  was  undoubtedly  the  invigorating  leaven 
brought  into  Gaul  by  the  Frank,  although  for 
a  time  he  succumbed  to  the  enervating  Gallic 
influence,  and,  while  conquering  and  subduing, 
was  himself  conquered  and  subdued. 

The  cultivated  Roman  in  his  toga  appealed 
to  the  imagination  of  the  fine  barbarian;  the 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  29 

habits  of  the  Romanized  cities  were  a  tempt- 
ing model  for  imitation.  Bridges,  aqueducts, 
palaces,  with  their  splendid  mingling  of  strength 
and  beauty,  fragments  of  which  still  linger  to 
convince  us  of  our  inferiority,  these  were  awe- 
inspiring  to  the  Frank  and  filled  him  with  long- 
ings to  drink  deep  at  this  fountain  of  civiliza- 
tion. The  heroic  strain  brought  by  Clovis  was 
quickly  enfeebled  and  debauched  by  luxury. 
The  court  of  the  Merovingian  king  became  a 
miserable  assemblage  of  half- Romanized  bar- 
barians covered  with  the  frayed  and  worn-out 
mantle  of  imperialism.  It  is  a  strange  picture 
w^e  have  of  this  descendant  of  Clovis,  this  Roi 
Faineant  (Do-nothing  King)  in  a  royal  proces- 
sion on  a  state  occasion.  Curled  and  perfumed, 
he  emerges  from  the  Palais  des  Thermos,  at- 
tended in  great  pomp  by  Romans  and  Roman- 
ized Frankish  warriors.  Then,  in  remembrance 
of  the  primitive  simplicity  of  his  ancestral  line, 
sitting  alone  in  a  wagon  drawn  by  bullocks,  he 
leads  the  pageant  through  the  narrow  streets 
of  old  Paris. 

But  while  masquerading  as  a  simple  barba- 
rian he  was  only  a  poor  imitator  of  the  vices  and 
dregs  of  a  perishing  civilization.     But  in  proof 


30  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

that  virility  was   still  a  characteristic  of  the, 
Frank  in   Gaul,   we  are  told  that  while  the 
Church  and  the  offices  of  State  were  filled  by 
Romans  or  Gallo-Romans,   the  army  at  this 
time  was  composed  entirely  of  Franks. 

With  the  degeneracy  of  these  Rois  Faineants 
the  kingdom  of  Clovis  was  gradually  shrink- 
ing, and  men  were  already  waiting  to  seize 
the  power  as  it  fell  from  incompetent  hands. 
When  Clovis  made  gifts  of  large  estates  to 
reward,  or  to  purchase,  followers,  Roman  or 
Gallic,  he  laid  the  foundations  of  a  system 
which  would  prove  fatal  to  his  successors. 
With  these  estates  came  titles  and  authority, 
multiplying  and  growing  with  each  succeed- 
ing reign.  A  count,  who  was  the  chief  officer 
of  a  county,  was  in  fact  the  sovereign  of  a 
small  state,  and  so  on  a  smaller  scale  were 
a  duke  or  a  marquis.  And  it  was  to  these 
smaller  bodies  that  the  power  naturally  gravi- 
tated as  it  vanished  from  the  throne. 

This  meant  disintegration  into  helpless  frag- 
ments, and  this  meant  the  end  of  a  Frankish 
kingdom,  unless  some  power  should  arise  great 
enough  to  compel  the  crumbling  state  to  become 
homogeneous. 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  31 

It  was  a  Romanized-Frankish  family  dwell- 
ing in  the  Valley  of  the  Rhine  which  saved  the 
kingdom  of  Clovis  from  this  fate.  France  had 
already  fallen  apart  into  an  eastern  and  a 
western  kingdom,  known  respectively  as  Aus- 
trasia  and  Neustria.  A  certain  Duke  of  Aus- 
trasia,  known  as  Pepin  the  Elder,  was  the 
forerunner  of  the  Carlovingian  line  of  kings. 
With  him  the  centralizing  force  began  to  work 
with  saving  power.  The  one  end  kept  in  view 
was  the  restoration  of  the  power  of  kingship — 
the  strengthening  of  the  power  at  the  centre. 
To  this  end,  from  generation  to  generation, 
these  early  Pepins  steadily  moved.  In  687 
Pepin  the  Younger,  grandson  of  the  Elder, 
by  a  victory  at  Testry  over  Neustria,  brought 
together  these  two  sundered  divisions  under 
himself,  with  the  new  title  Duke  of  the  Franks. 
The  Pepins  had  already  succeeded  in  making 
the  office  of  Maire  du  Palais  hereditary  in  their 
family,  and  in  the  year  a.d.  732,  Charles,  son 
and  successor  of  Pepin  the  Younger,  made 
himself  forever  the  hero  not  of  France  alone, 
but  of  Christendom,  by  driving  the  Saracen 
invasion  back  over  the  Pyrenees,  and  was  in 
turn  succeeded  by  his  son,  Pepin  the  Short,  who 


32  A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

seized  the  Merovingian  crown  itself;  this  re- 
markable family,  the  appointed  channel  for  the 
centralizing-  forces,  reaching  its  climax  in  his 
son  Charlemagne^  creator  of  a  Holy  Roman 
Empire. 

There  had  appeared  an  enemy  to  the  true 
faith  more  to  be  feared  than  paganism. 

Less  than  one  hundred  years  after  the  death 
of  Clovis,  there  had  come  out  of  Asia,  that 
birthplace  of  religions,  a  new  faith,  which  was 
destined  to  be  for  centuries  the  scourge  of 
Christendom,  and  which  to-day  rules  one-third 
of  the  human  family.  Zoroaster,  Buddha, 
Christ,  had  successively  come  with  saving  mes- 
sage to  humanity,  and  now  (a.d.  600)  Ma- 
homet believed  himself  divinely  appointed  to 
drive  out  of  Arabia  the  idolatry  of  ancient 
Magianism  (the  religion  of  Zoroaster). 

Christianity  had  passed  through  strange 
vicissitudes.  Kings,  emperors,  popes,  and 
bishops  had  been  terrible  custodians  of  its 
truths ;  and  while  many  still  held  it  in  its  primi- 
tive purity,  ecclesiastics  were  fiercely  fighting 
over  the  nature  of  the  Trinity,  the  divinity  of 
the  Virgin  Mother,  and  the  Church  was  shaken 
to  its  foundation  by  furious  factions. 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OP  FRANCE.  S3 

In  this  hour  of  weakness  the  Persians  (a.d. 
590)  had  conquered  Asia  Minor.  Bethlehem, 
Gethsemane,  and  Calvary  were  profaned;  the 
Holy  Sepulchre  had  been  burned,  and  the  cross 
carried  off  amid  shouts  of  laughter.  Magian- 
ism  had  insulted  Christianity,  and  no  miracle 
had  interposed!  The  heavens  did  not  roll 
asunder,  nor  did  the  earth  open  her  abysses  to 
swallow  them  up.  There  was  consternation 
and  doubt  in  Christendom. 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  Church  when  Ma- 
hometanism  came  into  existence.  "  There 
is  but  one  God,  and  Mahomet  is  his  Prophet." 
Such  was  its  battle-cry  and  its  creed,  and  the 
moral  precepts  of  the  Koran  were  its  gospel. 
There  seems  nothing  in  this  to  account  for  the 
mad  enthusiasm  and  the  passion  for  worship 
in  its  followers.  But  in  less  than  a  hundred 
years  this  lion  out  of  Arabia  had  subjugated 
Syria,  Mesopotamia,  Egypt,  Northern  Africa, 
and  the  Spanish  Peninsula.  Now,  sword  in 
one  hand  and  the  Koran  in  the  other,  the  Ma- 
hometan had  crossed  the  Pyrenees  and  was  in 
Southern  Gaul. 

Under  the  strange  magic  of  this  faith  the 
largest  religious  empire  the  world  had  known 


34  A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

had  sprung  into  existence,  stretching  from  the 
Chinese  Wall  to  the  Atlantic ;  from  the  Caspian 
to  the  Indian  Ocean;  and  Jerusalem,  the  me- 
tropolis of  Christianity — ^Jerusalem,  the  Mecca 
of  the  Christian — was  lost!  The  Crescent 
floated  over  the  birthplace  of  our  Lord,  and, 
notwithstanding  the  temporary  successes  of  the 
Crusades,  it  does  to  this  day. 

If  the  Pyrenees  were  passed  the  very  ex- 
istence of  Christendom  was  threatened.  Charles 
Martel,  the  grandfather  of  Charlemagne, 
averted  this  danger  when  he  stayed  the  infidel 
flood  at  the  battle  of  Tours,  a.d.  732. 

The  Merovingian  kings,  if  not  devout,  were 
faithful  sons  of  the  Church,  and  when  the  pope 
appealed  to  the  last  Merovingian  king  to  pro- 
tect him  from  the  Lombards,  near  the  end  of 
the  eighth  century,  Pepin,  then  Maire  du  Palais, 
but  holding  supreme  power,  twice  crossed  the 
Alps  with  an  army,  wrested  five  cities  and  a 
large  extent  of  territory  from  the  enemies  of 
the  pope,  which,  upon  parting,  he  tossed  as 
a  g^ft  into  the  lap  of  the  Church.  And  this, 
known  as  the  Donation  of  Pepin,  was  the 
beginning  of  the  temporal  power  of  the  popes 
in  Italy.     So  when  Pepin  resolved  to  assume 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  35 

the  crown,  Pope  Zacharias  in  gratitude  sanc- 
tioned the  audacious  act,  by  sending  his  repre- 
sentative to  place  the  symbol  of  power  upon  the 
head  of  this  faithful  son  and  usurper!     (a.d. 

75I-) 

But  this  was  only  the  stepping-stone  for  a 
greater  elevation.  When  Pope  Adrian  I.  again 
needed  protection  from  the  Lombard,  a  greater 
than  Pepin  was  wearing  the  crown  his  fathei 
had  audaciously  snatched. 


CHAPTER   V. 

Against  the  dark  background  of  European 
history,  and  with  the  broad  level  of  obscurity 
stretching  over  the  ages  at  its  feet,  there  rises 
one  shining  pinnacle.  Considered  as  man  or 
sovereign,  Charlemagne  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
pressive figures  in  history.  His  seven  feet  of 
stature  clad  in  shining  steel,  his  masterful  grasp 
of  the  forces  of  his  time,  his  splendid  intelli- 
gence, instinct  even  then  with  the  modern  spirit,, 
all  combine  to  elevate  him  in  solitary  grandeur. 

Charlemagne  found  France  in  disorder  meas- 
ureless, and  apparently  insurmountable.  Bar- 
barian invasion  without,  and  anarchy  within; 
Saxon  paganism  pressing  in  upon  the  north, 
and  Asiatic  Islamism  upon  the  south  and  west ; 
a  host  of  forces  struggling  for  dominion  in  a 
nation  brutish,  ignorant,  and  without  cohesion. 

It  is  the  attribute  of  genius  to  discern  oppor- 
tunity where  others  see  nothing.  Charlemagne 
36 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OP  FRANCE.  37 

saw  rising  out  of  this  chaos  a  great  resuscitated 
Roman  Empire,  which  should  be  at  the  same 
time  a  spiritual  and  Christian  empire  as  well. 
Saxons,  Slavs,  Huns,  Lombards,  Arabs,  came 
under  his  compelling  grasp;  these  antagonistic 
races  all  held  together  by  the  force  of  one 
terrible  will,  in  unnatural  combination  with 
France.  No  political  liberties,  no  popular  as- 
semblies discussing  public  measures ;  it  is 
Charlemagne  alone  who  fills  the  picture;  it  is 
absolutism — marked  by  prudence,  ability,  and 
grandeur,  but  still,  absolutism. 

The  pope  looked  approvingly  upon  this  son 
of  the  Church,  by  whose  order  4,500  pagan 
heads  could  be  cut  off  in  one  day,  and  a  whole 
army  compelled  to  baptism  in  an  afternoon. 
Here  was  a  champion  to  be  propitiated. 
Charlemagne,  on  the  other  hand,  saw  in  the 
Church  the  most  compliant  and  effective  means 
to  empire. 

His  fertile  mind  was  conceiving  a  vast  de- 
sigTi  by  which  he  might  reign  over  a  resusci- 
tated Roman  Empire.  In  the  dual  sovereignty 
of  his  dream,  the  pope  was  to  be  the  spiritual 
and  he  the  temporal  head.  Mutually  dependent 
upon  each  other,  the  election  of  the  pope  would 


38  A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCK 

not  be  valid  without  his  consent.  Nor  would 
the  emperor  be  emperor  until  crowned  by  the 
pope.  The  Church  might  use  him  as  a  sword, 
but  he  would  wear  the  Church  as  a  precious 
jewel  in  his  crown. 

It  was  a  splendid  dream,  splendidly  realized ; 
the  most  imposing  of  human  successes,  and  the 
most  impressive  of  human  failures.  It  seems 
designed  as  a  lesson  for  the  human  race  in  the 
transitory  nature  of  power  applied  from  with- 
out. 

A  pyramid  of  such  colossal  proportions  could 
only  be  kept  from  falhng  in  pieces  by  another 
Colossus  like  himself.  The  vast  fabric  resting 
upon  one  human  will,  passed  with  its  creator; 
was  gone  like  a  shadow  when  he  was  gone. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Roman  Em- 
pire in  its  decay  fell  into  two  parts,  a  Western 
and  an  Eastern  empire.  The  dying  embers  of 
the  Western  empire,  which  had  been  fanned 
into  a  feeble  flame  in  the  sixth  century  by  Jus- 
tinian, Emperor  of  the  East,  were  threatened 
with  complete  extinguishment  by  the  Lom- 
bards in  the  eighth ;  from  which  calamity  they 
were  saved,  as  we  have  seen,  by  Pepin.  So 
when   the  Franks   were   again   appealed   to. 


From  the  painting  by  Levy. 

Coronation  of  Charlemagne. 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  39 

Charlemagne  saw  his  opportunity.  With 
plans  fully  matured  he  responded,  and  with  the 
consent  and  acquiescence  of  the  pope  he  took 
foiTnal  possession  of  the  whole  of  Italy,  annex- 
ing to  his  own  dominions  the  crumbling  wreck 
of  a  magnificent  past.  And  when  Leo  III. 
placed  upon  his  head  the  crown,  and  pro- 
nounced "  Carolus-Magnus,  by  the  grace  of 
God  Emperor  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  " 
(a.d.  800),  the  authority  of  the  pope  was  placed 
upon  unassailable  heights,  and  France  had 
become  the  centre  of  a  world-wide  dominion. 

Little  did  pope  or  emperor  dream  of  what 
was  to  happen ;  that  after  a  brief  and  dazzling 
interlude  the  imperial  crown  would  never  be 
worn  in  France;  and  that  the  popes  would  for 
centuries  be  insulted  and  treated  as  contuma- 
cious vassals  by  German  emperors.  And 
France — France,  the  centre  of  this  dream  of  a 
magnificent  unity — in  less  than  fifty  years,  with 
her  native  incohesiveness,  and  in  the  irony  of 
fate,  would  have  broken  into  fifty-nine  frag- 
ments, loosely  held  together  by  a  feeble  Carlo- 
vingian  king. 

The  plan  of  a  dual  sovereignty  of  pope  and 
emperor  might  have  been  wise  had  both  been 


40  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

immortal !  But  it  was  the  triple  division  of 
the  empire  brought  about  by  Charlemagne's 
three  grandsons  which  overthrew  the  entire 
scheme  of  its  founder. 

Upon  the  death  of  Charlemagne,  in  a.d.  814, 
the  crown  and  the  sceptre  of  the  empire  passed 
to  his  son  Louis  (the  later  form  of  Clovis). 
This  feeble  son  of  Charlemagne,  known  as 
Louis  the  Debonnaire,  struggled  under  the 
weight  of  the  crumbling  mass  until  his  death 
in  840.  Then  Charlemagne's  three  ambitious 
grandsons  fought  for  the  great  inheritance. 
Lothaire,  who  claimed  the  whole  by  right  of 
primogeniture,  was  defeated  at  the  battle  of 
Fontenay  in  Burgundy,  and  by  the  treaty  of 
Verdun  in  843  the  partition  of  the  empire  was 
consummated ;  the  title  of  emperor  passing  to 
Lothaire,  the  eldest,  along  with  Italy  and  a  strip 
of  territory  extending  to  the  North  Sea,  all  west 
of  that  being  arbitrarily  called  France,  and  all 
east  of  it  Germany. 

So  the  European  drama  was  unfolding  upon 
lines  entirely  unexpected.  Not  only  had  the 
empire  fallen  apart  into  three  grand  divisions, 
but  France  itself  was  disintegrating,  was  in 
fact  a  mass  of  rival  states,  with  counts,  princes. 


,  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  41 

marquises,  and  a  score  of  other  petty  potentates 
struggling  for  supremacy. 

The  rough  outHnes  of  something  greater  than 
France — the  outhnes  of  a  future  Europe — were 
being  drawn.  It  is  easy  to  see  now  what  was 
then  so  incomprehensible :  that  from  the  chaos 
of  barbarism  left  by  the  Teuton  flood,  there 
were  emerging  in  that  ninth  century  a  group  of 
states  with  definite  outlines,  and  the  larger 
organism  of  Europe  was  coming  into  form. 
The  treaty  of  Verdun  (843)  had  roughly  sepa- 
rated Italy,  France,  and  Germany.  At  the  same 
time  the  Heptarchy  in  Britain  had  been  con- 
solidated into  England  under  King  Alfred; 
while  an  obscure  Scandinavian  adventurer 
named  Rurik,  quite  unobserved,  was  bringing 
into  political  unity,  and  reigning  at  Kieff  as 
Grand  Duke  over  what  was  to  become  Rus- 
sia. Spain,  quite  apart  from  all  this  move- 
ment, had  entered  upon  those  seven  centuries 
of  struggle  with  Saracen  and  Moor,  that 
struggle  of  unmatched  devotion  and  tenacity 
of  purpose  which  is  really  the  great  epic  of 
history. 

Those  ambitious  and  too  powerful  vassals 
were  not  the  greatest  evils  menacing  the  Carlo- 


42  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

vingian  kings.  It  was  the  incessant  invasions 
of  a  race  of  barbarians  coming  out  of  the  north, 
which  was  going  to  bury  the  past  under  a  ruin 
of  a  different  sort.  There  seemed  no  defence 
from  these  Northmen,  as  they  were  called,  who 
swarmed  like  destroying  insects  upon  the  coast, 
up  the  rivers,  and  over  the  lands;  three  times 
sacked  Paris,  the  scars  to-day  being  visible  in 
that  impressive  Roman  ruin,  the  Palais  des 
Thermes,  the  home  of  the  Caesars,  and  of 
the  Merovingian  kings,  which  they  partially 
burned. 

Fortified  castles  with  towers  and  moats  and 
drawbridges  sprang  up  all  over  the  kingdom 
for  the  protection  of  the  rich.  After  seven  in- 
vasions all  the  old  cities,  Rouen,  Nantes,  Bor- 
deaux, Toulouse,  Orleans,  Beauvais,  had  been 
devastated,  and  France  in  coat  of  mail  was  hid- 
ing behind  stone  walls. 

In  looking  through  the  vista  of  centuries  it 
is  easy  to  read  the  eternal  purpose  in  the  chain 
of  cause  and  effect ;  and  also  to  see  that  events, 
no  less  than  kings,  have  their  pedigrees.  The 
terrible  child  of  the  Northman  was  the  Feudal 
System;  which  was  again  the  father  of  those 
romantic  and  picturesque  children,  the  Cru- 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  43 

sadcs;  and  these,  the  creators  of  a  European 
civilization,  whose  children  we  are! 

Who  can  imagine  the  course  of  history  with 
any  one  of  these  removed — each  an  apparently 
inevitable  step  in  the  unfolding  of  a  mighty  de- 
sign, utterly  incomprehensible  at  the  time? 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Someone  has  said  that  "  the  Lord  must  like 
common  people,  because  he  made  so  many  of 
them."  The  path  for  the  common  people  in 
France  at  this  time  led  through  heavy  shadows. 
But  a  darker  time  was  approaching.  A  sys- 
tem of  oppression  was  maturing  which  was 
soon  to  envelop  them  in  the  obscurity  of  dark- 
est night. 

Those  Scandinavian  freebooters  called 
Northmen,  and  later  Normans,  were  the 
scourge  of  the  kingdom.  Nothing  was  safe 
from  their  insolent  courage  and  rapacity. 

The  rich  could  intrench  themselves  in  stone 
fortresses,  with  moats  and  drawbridges,  and 
be  in  comparative  security,  but  the  poor  were 
utterly  defenceless  against  this  perennial  de- 
stroyer. The  result  was  a  compact  between  the 
powerful  and  the  weak,  which  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  feudal  system.  It  was  in  effect  an 
exchange  of  protection  for  service  and  fealty. 

44 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  45 

You  give  us  absolute  control  of  your  persons 
— your  military  service  when  required,  and  a 
portion  of  your  substance  and  the  fruit  of  your 
toil — and  we  will  in  exchange  give  you  our 
fortified  castles  as  a  refuge  from  the  North- 
men. Such  was  the  offer.  It  was  a  choice 
between  vassalage,  serfdom,  or  destruction  out- 
right. 

Simple  enough  in  its  beginnings,  this  became 
a  ramified  system  of  oppression,  a  curious  net- 
work of  authority,  ingeniously  controlling  an 
entire  people.  The  conditions  upon  which  was 
engrafted  this  compact  were  of  great  antiquity, 
had  indeed  been  brought  across  the  Rhine  by 
the  German  conquerors ;  but  the  Northmen  were 
the  impelling  cause  of  the  swift  development 
of  feudalism  in  France. 

Charlemagne  had  felt  grave  apprehensions 
of  evil  from  these  robber  incursions,  but  could 
not  have  conceived  of  a  result  such  as  this,  the 
most  oppressive  system  ever  fastened  upon  a 
nation,  and  one  which  would  at  the  same  time 
sap  the  fomidations  of  royalty  itself. 

The  theory  was  that  the  king  was  absolute 
owner  of  all  the  territory ;  the  great  lords  hold- 
ing their  titles  from  him  on  condition  of  mili- 


46  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

tary  service,  their  vassals  pledging  military  ser- 
vice and  obedience  to  them  again  on  similar 
terms,  and  sub-vassals  again  to  them  repeating 
the  pledge ;  and  so  on  in  descending  chain,  until 
at  last  the  serf,  that  wretched  being  whom  none 
looks  up  to  nor  fears,  is  ground  to  powder 
beneath  the  superimposed  mass ;  no  appeal  from 
the  authority,  no  escape  from  the  caprice  or 
cruelty  of  his  feudal  lord.  Could  any  scales 
weigh,  could  any  words  measure  the  suffering 
which  must  have  been  endured?  Is  it  strange 
that,  with  every  aspiration  thwarted,  hope 
stifled,  Europe  sank  into  the  long  sleep  of  the 
Middle  Ages? 

It  is  easy  to  conceive  that,  under  such  a  sys- 
tem, where  all  the  affairs  of  the  realm  were 
adjusted  by  individual  rulers  with  unlimited 
power,  and  where  the  great  barons  could  make 
war  upon  each  other  without  authorization 
from  the  king,  by  the  time  this  nominal  head  of 
the  entire  system  was  reached  there  remained 
nothing  for  him  to  do.  In  fact,  there  was  not 
left  one  vestige  of  kingly  authority,  and  Carlo- 
vingian  rulers  w^re  almost  as  insignificant  as 
their  Merovingian  predecessors.     France  had. 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  47 

instead  of  one  great  sovereign,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  petty  ones ! 

In  A.D.  911  the  Northmen  were  offered  the 
province  henceforth  known  as  Nomiandy,  upon 
condition  of  their  acceptance  of  the  rehgion 
and  submission  to  the  laws  of  the  reahn. 
Rollo,  the  disreputable  robber-chief,  took  the 
oath  of  fealty  to  the  King  of  France,  his  suze- 
rain, and  Christian  baptism  transformed  him 
into  respectable,  law-abiding  Robert,  Duke  of 
Normandy. 

So,  the  enemy  had  become  a  vassal.     The 
pirate  of  the  North  Sea  had  taken  his  place 
among  the  Christian  chivalry  of  Europe,  as  one 
of  the  twelve  peers  of  France.    It  was  less  than 
a  century  since  the  death  of  Charlemagne,  and 
the  office  of  king  had  grown  almost  as  help- 
less as  in  the  period  of  the  Rois  Faineants. 
Under  the  stress  of  the  continuous  invasions, 
by  perfectly  natural  process  the  central  author- 
ity had  passed  to  the  feudal  magnates.   Many  of 
the  feudal  states  had  actually  organized  into  in- 
dependent governing  bodies.   The  struggle  with 
the  Northmen  ended,  France,  dismembered,  ex- 
hausted, was  lying  prostrate.    A  king  stripped 
of  every  kingly  attribute  at  one  extreme  of  the 


48  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

social  system,  and  a  people  trampled  into  the 
very  dust  by  feudal  oppression  at  the  other. 
Owners  of  nothing,  not  even  of  themselves,  they 
might  not  fish  in  the  streams,  nor  hunt  in  the 
forests,  unless  the  privilege  was  bestowed ;  and 
with  their  lives  spent  in  fighting  the  incessant 
private  wars  of  their  lords,  there  seemed  no 
room  for  them  in  the  world,  nor  for  hope  in 
their  hearts.  With  the  king  effaced,  and  the 
people  effaced,  there  remained  only  bands  of 
feudal  barons  trying  to  efface  each  other ! 

As  in  the  last  days  of  the  Merovingians, 
light  came  from  an  unexpected  quarter.  The 
tide  turned  toward  centralization.  Robert  the 
Strong,  a  man  of  obscure  family,  who  had 
laid  down  his  life  in  a  very  heroic  resistance  to 
the  Northmen,  had  won  the  titles  "  Count  of 
Paris  "  and  "  Duke  of  France,"  which  he  be- 
queathed, with  the  estates  attached  to  them,  to 
his  successors. 

Somewhat  after  the  manner  of  the  Pepins, 
this  powerful  and  resourceful  family  by  sheer 
native  ability  grasped  one  after  another  the 
sources  of  power  in  the  state;  and  in  the  year 
987  the  dynasty  established  by  Pepin  disap- 
peared, and  Hugh  Capet,  Count  of  Paris  and 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  49 

Abbot,  was  declared  by  the  Pope  of  Rome  to  be 
"  King  of  France,  in  virtue  of  his  great  deeds. 
It  was  the  ecclesiastical  office  of  this  descendant 
of  Robert  the  Strong  which  gave  the  name  to 
the  dynasty  that  had  come  to  save  France  a 
second  time  from  disintegration.  Because  he 
was  the  wearer  of  the  Chape,  or  Cope,  the 
name  Chapet,  or  Capet,  became  that  of  the 

line.  ,     ,    ^ 

There  now  commenced  a  struggle  between 
the  antagonistic  principles  of  royalty  and  aris- 
tocracy; a  conflict  which  was  gomg  to  last 
nearly  five  centuries,  covering  that  dreary  twi- 
light known  as  the  Dark  Ages-a  time  when 
had  it  not  been  for  the  Christian  Church  and 
for  the  torch  of  the  Saracen  in  Spain,  the  light 
of  civilization  would  really  have  been  extin- 
guished, and  the  slender  thread  of  connection 
with  a  great  past  have  been  broken. 

In  the  helpless  misery  existing  in  France  at 
this  time,  the  Church  saw  its  opportunity.  To 
that  silent,  humble,  forgotten  multitude  with- 
out life  or  hope  in  the  world,  she  offered  refuge, 
peace,  consolation,  and  thus  forever  bound  to 
her  the  poor  of  Christendom;  by  this  means 
establishing  in  the  end  an  ecclesiastical  domin- 


so  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

ion  to  which  kings  and  peerage  would  be  com- 
pelled to  bow. 

If  one  would  know  how  kings  submitted  to 
the  authority  of  the  Church  at  this  time,  let 
him  read  the  story  of  the  good  King  Robert, 
second  in  the  Capetian  line,  who  for  marrying 
the  gentle  Bertha,  his  cousin  fourth  removed, 
suffered  the  punishment  of  excommunication; 
was  treated  as  a  moral  leper  in  his  own  palace; 
cut  off  from  contact  with  human  kind  and 
from  sound  of  human  voice;  the  dishes  from 
which  he  ate,  the  clothes  he  wore,  destroyed, 
until  repentant  and  heart-broken  they  consented 
to  part  and  to  break  the  bond  of  their  union 
forever. 

It  was  the  despair  in  the  heart  of  the  nation 
which  gave  intensity  to  the  religious  instinct 
at  this  time.  And  when  pestilence  came,  and 
neither  rich  nor  poor  could  escape,  conscience- 
stricken  barons  also  trembled.  A  belief  began 
to  prevail  that  the  end  of  the  world  was  at  hand. 
Did  not  the  Book  of  Revelation  say  that  one 
thousand  years  from  the  birth  of  Christ  the 
great  dragon  was  to  be  let  loose  and  the  earth 
was  to  be  destroyed? 

As   the  hour   of   doom   approached,   labor 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  $1 

ceased,  the  fields  were  untouched,  and  when  to 
pestilence  and  despair  was  added  famine,  then 
men's  hearts  failed  them  even  under  coats  of 
mail.  The  Church  came  to  the  rescue  with  the 
*'  Truce  of  God,"  which,  in  the  hope  of  appeas- 
ing an  avenging  God,  forbade  private  wars 
during  certain  periods  in  the  ecclesiastical  year. 
Repentant  barons,  with  a  similar  hope,  made 
peace  with  their  neighbors,  and  their  swords 
rusted  as  they  built  monasteries  and  chapels; 
or  some  not  yet  obtaining  peace,  and  perhaps 
restless  with  their  occupation  gone,  made  pil- 
grimages to  Rome,  to  pray  at  the  graves  of 
Peter  and  Paul,  and  still  others  even  to  Jeru- 
salem, that  the  breath  from  Calvary  might 
whiten  their  sin-steeped  souls. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  among  these 
penitent  pilgrims,  sixty  years  before  the  first 
Crusade,  was  that  Duke  of  Normandy  known 
as  "  Robert  the  Devil,"  whose  pagan  ancestor 
only  a  century  before  had  been  the  terror  of 
European  civilization,  and  whose  son,  thirty 
years  later,  was  to  wear  the  crown  of  England. 

In  this  way  were  the  currents  setting  steadily 
toward  the  Holy  Sepulchre  as  the  panacea  for 
human  woes  which  were  sent  by  an  avenging 


52  A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

God.  These  were  the  first  stirrings  of  the 
breath  of  the  coming  storm  which  in  eight  suc- 
cessive waves  was  soon  to  sweep  over  Europe. 
The  way  was  preparing  for  the  great  event  of 
the  Middle  Ages. 

Whatever  its  motives,  the  abstaining  from 
slaughter,  and  the  building  of  cathedrals  and 
monasteries  and  abbeys,  was  weaving  a  mantle 
of  beauty  for  France,  which  she  still  proudly 
wears.  And  the  greatest  of  the  builders  was 
the  Duke  of  Normandy;  and  it  is  to  his  duke- 
dom the  art  student  turns  for  the  most  per- 
fect blending  of  grace  and  grandeur,  character- 
istic of  the  early  style.  The  marvel  to  which 
this  is  intended  to  draw  attention  is  the  pre- 
eminent position  swiftly  attained  in  France  by 
this  brilliant  race,  in  every  department  of  liv- 
ing. It  would  seem  that  France  did  not  adopt 
this  terrible  child  from  the  north,  but  that  he 
adopted  France,  and  changed  and  gave  color 
to  her  whole  future.  It  was  a  tempestuous  ele- 
ment, but  it  was  new  life,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  conceive  of  what  that  country  would  have 
been  without  this  stimulating,  brilliant  infusion 
into  its  national  life. 

With  such  marvellous  facility  did  this  people 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  53 

adopt  the  speech  and  manners  of  their  neigh- 
bors, that  in  the  year  1066  they  were  prepared 
to  instruct  the  Britons  in  the  ways  of  a  more 
poHshed  civiHzation.  Only  a  century  before 
the  birth  of  WilHam  the  Conqueror,  his  ances- 
tors had  hved  by  looting.  They  were  high- 
waymen and  robbers  by  profession.  His 
mother,  a  Norman  peasant  girl,  daughter  of  a 
tanner,  won  the  love  of  that  gay  duke  known 
as  "  Robert  the  Devil."  William,  the  child  of 
this  unconsecrated  union,  upon  the  death  of  his 
father  succeeded  to  the  dukedom.  One  of  the 
steps  in  the  rapid  climb  of  this  family  of  Rollo 
had  been  a  marriage  connecting  them  with  the 
royal  family  of  England.  King  Edward,  Will- 
iam's remote  cousin,  died  without  an  heir. 
Here  was  an  opportunity.  With  sixty  thou- 
sand Norman  adventurers  like  himself,  William 
started  with  the  desperate  purpose  of  invading 
England  and  wresting  the  crown  from  his 
cousin  Harold. 

It  was  not  the  first  time  the  Northman  had 
invaded  England.  But  never  before  had  he 
come  bringing  a  higher  civilization,  and  under 
the  banner  of  the  Church!  In  a  few  weeks 
Harold,  last  king  of  the  Saxons,  was  dead,  and 


54  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  / 

William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  was  William  I., 
King  of  England. 

Philip,  King  of  France,  saw  with  dismay  his 
richest  province  ruled  by  a  king  of  England, 
and  his  own  vassal  wearing  a  crown  with  power 
superior  to  his  own !  A  door  had  tlius  opened 
through  which  would  enter  entangling  compli- 
cations and  countless  woes  in  the  future. 

While  William  was  trampling  England  into 
the  dust,  and  with  pitiless  hand  rivetting  a  feu- 
dal chain  upon  the  Saxons,  another  and  greater 
centre  of  power  was  developing  at  Rome,  where 
the  monk  Hildebrand,  who  had  now  become 
Pope  Gregory  VIL,  claimed  a  universal  sov- 
ereignty from  which  there  was  no  appeal. 
Christ  was  King  of  Kings.  So,  as  His  vice- 
gerent upon  earth,  the  authority  of  the  pope 
was  absolute  in  Christendom. 

The  moment  of  this  supreme  elevation  in  the 
Church  was  reached  at  Canossa,  1072,  when 
Henry,  the  excommunicated  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many, came  barefooted^  in  winter,  and  pros- 
trated himself  before  Gregory  VII.  If  Charle- 
magne had  worn  the  Church  as  a  precious  jewel 
in  his  crown  in  the  ninth  century,  now  in  the 
eleventh  the  Church  wore  all  the  European 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  55 

States  as  a  tiara  of  jewels  in  her  mitre.  With' 
supreme  wisdom,  and  with  a  sure  instinct  for 
power,  her  supremacy  had  been  rooted  first  in 
the  hearts  of  the  people,  then  the  mailed  hand 
laid  upon  their  rulers. 


CHAPTER   VIL 

The  corner-stone  o£  the  social  structure  in 
France  was  the  dogma  that  work  was  degrad- 
ing; and  not  only  manual  labor,  but  anything 
done  with  the  object  of  producing  wealth  was 
a  degradation.  The  only  honorable  occupation 
for  a  gentleman  was  either  to  pray  or  to  fight. 

Society  in  France  was,  therefore,  divided 
into  three  classes :  the  Clergy,  called  the  "  First 
Estate  " ;  the  Nobility,  composing  the  "  Second 
Estate,"  and  the  working  and  trading  classes, 
the  "  Third  Estate,"  or  Tiers  Etat. 

Out  of  reverence  for  their  spiritual  office, 
precedence  in  rank  was  given  to  the  clergy. 
But  the  actual  ruling  class  was  the  nobility. 
The  business  of  the  clergy  was  to  minister  to 
souls.  The  business  of  the  nobility  was  war- 
fare. That  of  the  third  estate,  the  toiling  class, 
being  to  support  the  other  two.  And  whatever 
existed  in  the  form  of  property  or  wealth  in 
feudal  times  was  produced  by  the  Tiers  Etat. 
56 


A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.  57 

The  lowest  stratum  of  the  third  estate  was 
composed  of  *'  serfs."  A  serf  belonged  abso- 
lutely, with  all  that  he  possessed,  to  his  lord. 
He  was  attached  to  his  land,  as  are  the  trees 
which  are  rooted  in  it.  There  was,  however,  a 
class  of  serfs  above  this  whom  we  should  now 
call  slaves,  but  who  were  by  French  law  then 
designated  as  Freemen. 

A  freeman  might  go  and  come  under  certain 
restrictions.  But  this  did  not  by  any  means 
imply  that  he  w^as  freed  from  the  proprietor  to 
whom  he  belonged,  to  whom  he  was  inevitably 
bound  for  military  service,  or  for  such  contri- 
butions or  claims  as  might  be  levied  upon  him. 

As  was  to  be  expected,  it  was  in  the  cities 
that  this  half-emancipated  class  congregated; 
these  cities  as  naturally  becoming  the  centres 
of  the  various  industries  required  to  supply  the 
necessities  and  luxuries  of  the  two  ruling 
classes.  In  this  way  there  were  being  created 
various  centres  of  wealth,  which  meant  power, 
and  which  would  have  to  be  reckoned  with  in 
the  future. 

The  thin  edge  of  the  wedge  was  inserted 
when  individual  freemen  offered  money  to  their 
hard-pressed  feudal  lords  in  exchange  for  cer- 


$8  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

tain  privileges,  and  then  for  charters.  And  as 
more  money  was  needed  by  proprietors  for  their 
lavish  expenditures,  more  freedom  and  more 
charters  were  acquired,  until,  having  purchased 
immunities  and  privileges  enough  to  make  them 
to  some  extent  self-governing,  the  town  became 
what  was  called  a  commune. 

It  was  Louis  VI.,  fifth  king  in  the  Capetian 
line,  who  completed  this  work  of  emancipation 
by  recognizing  the  communes  as  free  cities, 
and  bestowing  franchises  clearly  defining  their 
rights.  By  this  act  the  body  of  the  manufac- 
turing class,  or  burgesses,  was  recognized  as  a 
part  of  the  body  politic,  and  was  enfranchised. 

A  free  city  was  a  small  republic.  The  en- 
tire body  of  inhabitants  must  take  the  communal 
oath,  and  when  summoned  by  the  tolling  of  the 
bell  must  all  appear  at  the  meeting  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  their 
magistrates.  This  done,  the  assembly  dis- 
solved, and  the  magistrates  were  left  with  a 
free  hand  to  rule  or  ruin,  until  checked  by  popu- 
lar outbreak  or  a  new  election. 

As  is  always  the  case,  time  developed  two 
classes:  an  inferior  population,  with  a  furious 
spirit  of  democracy,  and  a  superior  class,  more 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  $9 

conservative,  and  desirous  of  keeping  peace 
with  the  great  proprietors. 

In  this  simple,  humble  fashion  were  the  peo- 
ple groping  toward  freedom,  and  experiment- 
ing with  the  alphabet  of  self-government. 

The  acknowledgment  of  the  free  cities  by 
Louis  VI.,  was  the  first  move  toward  an  alliance 
between  the  king  and  the  people;  an  alliance 
which  would  eventually  wrest  the  power  from 
the  hands  of  the  nobles.  But  that  end  was  still 
far  off.  Another  accession  to  the  kingly  power 
came  in  the  succeeding  reign  when  Louis  VII. 
married  Eleanor,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of 
Aquitaine;  and  her  great  inheritance,  the  lar- 
gest of  the  feudal  states,  was  thereby  annexed 
to  the  crown :  a  marriage  which  made  some 
troublesome  chapters  in  the  history  of  two  king- 
doms, of  which  we  shall  hear  later.  But,  in 
the  duel  between  king  and  peerage,  the  balance 
of  power  was  moving  toward  the  throne. 

At  the  time  these  things  were  happening  that 
great  event,  the  Crusades,  had  already  com- 
menced. 

It  was  in  1095  that  Peter  the  Hermit,  re- 
turning from  a  pilgrimage,  by  command  of  the 
Pope  went  throughout  Europe  proclaiming  the 


6o  A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

desecration  of  the  holy  places.  At  a  council 
held  at  Clermont  in  France,  1095,  the  first  Cru- 
sade was  proclaimed  by  Urban  II.  Led  by 
Peter  the  Hermit,  a  vast  undisciplined  host, 
without  preparation,  rushed  indiscriminately 
toward  Asia  Minor,  perishing  by  famine,  dis- 
ease, and  the  sword  before  they  reached  their 
goal.  Undismayed  by  this,  another  Crusade 
was  immediately  organized  under  the  direction 
of  the  greatest  nobles  in  France;  and  in  three 
years  (1099)  the  Holy  City  had  been  cap- 
tured, the  Cross  floated  over  the  Holy  Sepul- 
chre, and  Godfrey  of  Boulogne,  leader  of  the 
expedition,  was  proclaimed  King  of  Jerusalem. 
France  had  inaugurated  the  most  extraordi- 
nary movement  in  the  history  of  civilization. 
Appealing  as  it  did  to  the  knightly  and  to  the 
romantic  ideal,  what  an  opportunity  was  here 
for  idle  adventurous  nobles,  their  occupation 
gone  through  changed  conditions!  If  the 
Church,  by  "  the  Truce  of  God,"  had  bid  them 
sheathe  their  swords,  now  she  bade  them  to  be 
drawn  in  the  defence  of  all  that  was  sacred.  The 
entire  body  of  nobility  would  have  rushed  if  it 
could  to  the  Holy  Land.  Poor  barons  sold  or 
mortgaged  their  lands  and  their  castles,  and  the 


A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.  6l 

Third  Estate  grew  rich,  and  the  free  cities  still 
freer,  upon  the  necessities  of  the  hour.  But 
all  classes,  from  king  to  serf,  were  for  the  first 
time  moved  by  a  common  sentiment;  and  not 
alone  France,  but  the  choicest  and  best  of 
Europe  was  poured  in  one  great  volume  of  pas- 
sionate zeal  into  those  successive  waves  which 
eight  times  inundated  Palestine.  Private  in- 
terests sacrificed  or  forgotten,  life,  treasure,  all 
eagerly  given,  for  what?  That  a  small  bit  of 
territory  a  thousand  miles  distant  be  torn  from 
profaning  infidels,  because  it  was  the  birth- 
place of  a  religion  these  champions  failed  to 
comprehend ;  a  religion  worn  upon  their  battle- 
flags  but  not  in  their  hearts. 

The  second  Crusade,  1147,  was  led  by  Con- 
rad, Emperor  of  Germany,  and  Louis  VII.  of 
France.  The  profligate  conduct  of  Queen 
Eleanor,  who  accompanied  her  royal  consort, 
led  to  serious  political  conditions.  Louis  ap- 
pealed to  the  pope,  who  consented  to  the  divorce 
he  desired.  This  proved  simply  an  exchange 
of  thrones  for  the  fascinating  Eleanor.  Henry 
II.  of  England,  already  the  possessor  of  im- 
mense estates  in  France,  inherited  from  his 
father,    realized   that   with   Aquitaine,    Queen 


62  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

Eleanor's  dowry,  added  to  his  own,  and  these 
again  to  Normandy,  a  marriage  with  the  di- 
vorced wife  of  his  rival  would  make  him  pos- 
sessor of  more  than  three  times  the  size  of  the 
domain  controlled  by  the  French  king. 

The  marriage  was  solemnized  in  1152,  and 
France  saw  her  war  with  the  feudal  barons 
overshadowed  by  the  fight  for  her  very  life  with 
England,  who  had  fastened  this  tremendous 
grasp  upon  her  kingdom. 

The  first  truly  great  Capetian  king  came 
with  this  emergency.  Philip  Augustus,  son  of 
Louis  VIL,  in  the  year  1180,  when  only  fifteen 
years  of  age,  seized  the  reins  with  the  hand  of 
a  born  ruler.  Before  he  was  twenty-one  he  had 
broken  up  a  combination  of  feudal  barons 
against  him.  Then  he  turned  to  England. 
Queen  Eleanor  and  her  sons  were  conspiring 
against  Henry  II.  So  he  made  friends  with 
them.  The  palace  on  the  island  in  the  Seine 
was  an  asylum  where  John  and  Richard  might 
plot  against  their  father.  And  when  a  third 
Crusade  was  planned,  1189,  it  had  as  leaders 
Philip  Augustus  of  France,  Richard  I.,  who  had 
just  succeeded  his  father,  Henry  II.,  as  King  of 
England,  and  Barbarossa   (Frederick  I.),  the 


A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.  63 

great  Emperor  of  Germany.  Before  the  Holy 
Land  was  reached  the  wise  and  crafty  Philip 
Augustus  and  the  fiery  Richard  had  quarrelled. 

Philip  had  been  carefully  observing  these  two 
brothers  who  were  successively  to  wear  the 
crown  of  England.  He  knew  the  foibles  of  the 
romantic  and  picturesque  Richard ;  and  he  also 
knew  that  John,  corrupt  to  the  core,  was  a  trai- 
tor to  whom  no  trust  would  be  sacred.  In  his 
own  cold-blooded  fashion  he  intended  to  use 
them  both. 

John  had  conspired  against  his  own  father, 
now  Philip  would  help  him  to  supplant  his 
brother,  while  Richard  was  safely  occupied  in 
Palestine.  And  when  he  had  made  John  king, 
he,  Philip  Augustus,  was  to  be  rewarded  by 
the  gift  of  Normandy !  With  this  in  view, 
Philip  returned  to  France.  It  was  an  ingen- 
ious plot,  but  all  was  spoiled  by  Richard's  safe 
return  from  the  thrilling  adventures  of  the  Cru- 
sade. In  1 199,  however,  the  crown  passed 
naturally  to  John  by  the  death  of  his  brother, 
and  this  vicious  son  of  Eleanor  was  King  of 
England. 

There  were  other  means  of  recovering  his 
lost  possessions.     Philip  espoused  the  cause  of 


64  A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

the  young  Arthur,  John's  nephew,  a  rival  claim- 
ant to  the  English  throne.  And  when  that  ill- 
fated  Prince  was  murdered,  as  is  believed  by 
the  orders  of  his  uncle,  for  this  and  other  of- 
fences King  John,  as  Duke  of  Normandy — 
thence  vassal  to  the  King  of  France — was  sum- 
moned to  be  tried  by  his  peers. 

When  after  oft-repeated  summons  John  re- 
fused to  appear  at  Philip's  court,  by  feudal  law 
the  King  of  France  had  legal  authority  to  take 
possession  of  the  dukedom. 

In  vain  did  King  John  strive  to  defend  by 
arms  his  vanishing  possessions.  In  the  war 
which  ensued,  all  north  of  the  Loire  was  seized 
by  Philip,  and  at  one  stroke  he  had  mastered 
his  enemies  at  home  and  abroad. 

Not  only  were  Normandy,  Anjou,  Touraine, 
and  Poitou  restored  to  France,  but  they  were 
hereafter  to  be  held,  not  by  dukes  and  counts,  as 
before,  but  by  the  king,  as  a  part  of  the  royal 
domain.  And  kingship,  towering  high  above 
all  the  great  barons  of  France,  had  for  the  first 
time  become  a  reality. 

It  was  Philip's  policy  of  expansion  which 
gave  color  to  his  reign ;  not  an  expansion  which 
would  bring  extension  into  foreign  lands,  but 


A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.  65 

solidity  and  firmness  of  outline  to  France  itself. 
We  have  seen  how  and  why  this  policy  was  vig- 
orously carried  out  in  the  north.  The  growth 
toward  the  south  is  a  less  pleasant  story. 

The  province  of  Toulouse,  nominally  subject 
to  France,  was  actually  ruled  by  Raymond  VI., 
"  by  grace  of  God  "  Count  of  Toulouse.  Per- 
haps if  this  province  had  not  possessed  and 
controlled  several  ports  on  the  Mediterranean, 
while  France  had  none  at  all,  it  might  not  have 
been  discovered  that  this  home  of  the  "  gay 
science,"  and  of  minstrelsy,  and  of  all  that  was 
gentle  and  refining,  was  in  fact  the  nursery  of 
a  dangerous  heresy,  and  that  the  poetic,  music- 
loving  children  of  Provence  reviled  the  cross 
and  worshipped  the  devil ! 

We  can  easily  imagine  that  in  this  highly 
developed  community  there  had  arisen  a  spirit 
of  inquiry  into  prevailing  conditions  and  beliefs 
in  the  Church.  And  we  can  also  imagine  that 
a  crafty  sovereign  saw  in  this  an  opportunity 
to  serve  his  own  ends.  And  so,  Pope  Inno- 
cent III.  ordered  a  Crusade,  and  John  de  Mont- 
fort  not  only  opened  up  the  Mediterranean 
ports  for  Philip,  but  brought  Toulouse,  the 
greatest  of  the  remaining  feudal  states,  into  sub- 


66  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

jection  to  the  King  of  France ;  at  the  same  time 
forever  silencing  the  voice  of  the  heretic,  of  the 
minstrel,  and  of  the  harp;  even  the  speech, 
with  its  delicate  inflections  and  musical  into- 
nations, disappeared,  to  be  heard  nevermore. 
Such,  in  brief,  is  the  story  of  the  "  Albigensian 
War,"  so  called  on  account  of  the  heresy  hav- 
ing been  brought  into  Provence  by  the  Albi- 
genses  from  Switzerland. 

After  a  century  and  a  half  Normandy  was 
restored.  Its  reabsorption  into  France  marked 
the  parting  of  the  ways  in  two  kingdoms. 
Kingship  was  reinforced  in  one,  and  citizen- 
ship developed  in  the  other.  In  England  the 
nobles  and  the  people  drew  closer  together, 
resolved  to  defend  themselves  from  a  vicious 
king,  and  this  determined  effort  to  curtail  the 
royal  prerogative  produced  the  Magna  Charta, 
which  forever  secured  the  liberties  of  English- 
men (1215).  In  France,  on  the  contrary,  the 
power  was  moved  in  one  volume  toward  the 
king  and  despotism.  Both  nations  were  in  the 
hands  of  fate — a  fate,  too,  which  was  using 
unscrupulous  men  to  accomplish  its  great  pur- 
poses for  each. 


A    SHORT  HISTORY   OP  PRANCE.  67 

But  however  we  may  disparage  Philip's 
heart  and  aims,  no  one  can  deny  the  breadth 
and  superiority  of  his  mind  and  his  statesman- 
ship. He  was  a  Charlemagne  made  on  a 
smaller  scale,  and  without  a  conscience.  Not 
one  of  the  successors  of  Clovis  or  of  Pepin  had 
so  intelligently  grasped  the  sources  of  per- 
manent growth  in  a  nation.  He  may  have  been 
false  of  tongue  and  unprincipled  in  deed,  but 
he  took  the  free  cities  under  his  personal  protec- 
tion, opened  up  trade  with  foreign  lands,  beau- 
tified Paris  and  France.  He  may,  under  the 
cloak  of  religion,  have  permitted  unjustifiable 
cruelties  against  the  most  innocent,  the  most 
gifted  province  in  Europe,  in  order  to  secure 
access  to  the  sea  for  France.  But  he  left  the 
communes  richer  and  happier,  his  kingdom 
freer  from  local  tyrannies,  transformed  from  a 
pandemonium  of  struggling  knights  and  bar- 
ons into  the  nearest  approach  yet  realized  to 
a  modern  state. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

If  the  Crusades  had  strengthened  the  power 
of  the  Church,  they  had  at  the  same  time 
brought  about  an  expansion  of  thought  which 
was  undermining  it.  Men  were  beginning  to 
think,  to  inquire,  and  then  to  doubt.  How 
could  sensuahty  and  vice  at  Rome  be  reconciled 
with  a  divine  infallibility?  If  the  ballad- 
poetry  of  Provence  satirized  the  lives  and  man- 
ners of  the  priests,  was  it  not  dealing  with 
what  was  true? 

During  the  reign  of  Philip's  father,  a  pale, 
studious  youth  was  pacing  the  cloisters  on  the 
banks  of  the  Seine,  by  the  side  of  Notre  Dame. 
He  was  thinking  upon  these  things.  And  "  as 
he  mused  the  fire  burned."  This  was  Abelard. 
The  intellectual  awakening  brought  about  by 
the  lectures  of  this  most  learned  and  accom- 
plished man  of  his  time  produced  an  epoch.  He 
spoke  to  his  disciples  in  the  open  air,  as  no  build- 
ing could  hold  the  thousands  who  hung  upon 
68 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  69 

Ais  lips.  This  movement  became  localized;  a 
faubourg  of  students  was  created  with  their 
multiform  activities.  It  became  a  quarter  by 
itself — a  noisy,  turbulent,  agitated  quarter — 
where  the  only  luxury  enjoyed  was  an  expand- 
ing thought,  and  where  Latin  was  the  spoken 
language.  And  so  it  happened  that  the  Quar- 
tier  Latin  came  into  existence. 

But  while  the  place  remains,  the  man  quickly 
passed  off  the  scene.  He  was  silenced,  his 
teachings  condemned  by  a  Church  council  at 
Soissons,  and  he  immured  for  life  in  the  Mon- 
astery of  Cluny,  to  be  treasured  in  the  heart  of 
humanity  as  a  martyr  to  truth,  and  as  the  lover 
of  Eloise,  in  that  sad  romance  of  the  twelfth 
century. 

After  a  brief  reign  of  three  years  Louis 
VIIL,  son  and  successor  of  Philip,  was  dead, 
and  Louis  IX.,  under  the  regency  of  his  mother, 
"  Blanche  of  Castile,"  was  proclaimed  king. 
The  same  family,  which  later  gave  Isabella  to 
Spain,  also  bestowed  upon  France  this  wise^ 
intrepid  woman  at  a  critical  time. 

With  a  boy  of  eleven  and  a  woman  of  thirty- 
eight  years  upon  the  throne,  the  time  seemed 
propitious  for  the  barons  to  recover  the  power 


To  A  SHORT  HISTORY  OP  FRANCE. 

Philip  had  wrung  from  them,  and  to  reduce 
kingship  to  its  former  himible  position. 
'  With  this  purpose  a  powerful  coalition  was 
formed,  embracing  the  barons  north  and  south, 
chief  among  whom  was  Raymond  of  Toulouse. 
By  force  of  arms,  and  by  diplomacy,  Blanche 
of  Castile  met  this  crisis  with  astonishing  cour- 
age and  address.  The  free  cities  sprang  to  her 
assistance;  and  not  only  was  the  coalition 
broken,  but  there  was  formed  a  bond  between 
the  crown  and  the  people,  leaving  the  throne 
stronger  than  before. 

Blanche  showed  great  political  wisdom  in 
arranging  for  the  marriage  of  her  son  with  the 
daughter  of  the  Count  of  Provence;  thus  cap- 
turing and  securing  the  loyalty  of  this  most 
powerful  and  disaffected  state,  which  was 
making  common  cause  with  Toulouse  against 
the  king.  And  it  is  with  mingled  pity  and  re- 
joicing that  we  hear  of  Raymond  VII.  of  Tou- 
louse, once  champion  of  the  Albigenses — war- 
rior, poet,  troubadour,  and  heretic — scourge  in 
hand  and  barefooted,  at  the  porch  of  Notre 
Dame,  doing  penance  for  his  sins  against  the 
Church. 

With  Louis  IX.  on  the  throne  a  new  day  had 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCK  71 

dawned  for  France.  Louis  was  not  a  great 
soldier.  His  reign  was  not  one  of  territorial 
expansion  but  of  wise  administration,  giving 
permanence  and  solidity  to  what  already  ex- 
isted. We  are  apt  to  think  of  Philip's  heavenly 
minded  grandson  chiefly  as  a  saint.  But  his 
service  to  the  state  was  enduring  and  of  the 
first  magnitude,  because  it  dealt  with  the 
sources  of  things.  When  he  established  a 
King's  Court,  which  was  a  court  of  appeal 
from  the  rude  justice,  or  injustice,  of  feudal 
counts,  he  undermined  the  foundation  of  feu- 
dal power.  In  bestowing  the  right  of  appeal, 
his  protecting  hand  reached  down  to  the  poor- 
est man  in  the  realm.  And  when  bewildered 
barons  heard  the  uncomprehended  language  of 
the  law-courts,  and  heard  men  not  of  their  own 
order  declaring  private  wars  punishable  by 
death,  they  felt  their  power  slipping  from  under 
them,  and  that  they  were  coming  into  a  new 
sort  of  a  world. 

One  of  the  greatest  acts  of  this  reign  was  the 
abolishing  of  the  double  allegiance,  which  had 
wrought  such  trouble  since  the  Duke  of  Nor- 
mandy's conquest  of  England.  Feudal  pro- 
prietors were  forbidden  to  hold  territory  under 


72  A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

a  foreign  king;  and  henceforth  no  conquered 
province  could  acknowledge  allegiance  to  an 
English  king ;  nor  would  an  English  king  again 
be  vassal  to  a  king  of  France. 

But  in  so  fortifying  his  throne,  this  best  of 
kings,  and  of  men,  would  have  been  surprised 
had  he  been  told  that  he  was  preparing  the  way 
for  the  greatest  tragedy  in  history ;  that  he  was 
creating  an  absolute  despotism  which  five  hun- 
dred years  later  would  require  a  revolution  of 
unprecedented  horror  for  its  removal.  Such 
was  the  fact.  Every  wise  act  in  this  reign  was 
prompted  by  the  spirit  of  fairness  and  justice. 
And  if  at  the  same  time  these  acts  were  draw- 
ing all  the  forces  in  the  state  to  a  central  point, 
under  the  control  of  a  single  hand,  it  was  the 
best  development  for  France  under  existing 
conditions. 

Saint  though  he  was,  and  almost  fanatic  in 
his  devotion  to  the  Church,  Louis  resisted  the 
pope  or  the  bishop,  if  unjust,  with  as  much 
energy  as  one  of  his  own  barons;  and,  in  the 
same  spirit  of  fairness,  would  punish  his  own 
too  zealous  defenders  who  had  infringed  upon 
the  feudal  rights  of  the  peerage. 

This  was  Louis  the  king.     But  it  Is  Louis 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  73 

the  saint  who  holds  the  eye  on  the  world's 
canvas.  The  real  life  was  to  him  the  life  of 
the  soul.  Francis  Assisi  himself  did  not  live 
in  an  atmosphere  of  greater  spiritual  exalta- 
tion than  this  devout  and  heavenly  grandson  of 
Philip  Augustus !  No  monk  in  the  Dark  Ages 
attached  such  sanctity  to  relics.  When  a  por- 
tion of  the  crown  of  thorns  was  sent  to  him 
from  Jerusalem,  he  built  that  exquisite  Sainte 
Chapelle  for  its  reception ;  and  barefooted,  bare- 
headed, carried  it  himself  in  solemn  procession 
from  Vincennes  to  Paris,  placing  it  with  rev- 
erent hands  in  that  shrine  we  may  visit  to-day. 

Christian  knighthood  had  reached  its  one 
perfect  flower  in  Louis;  and  the  Crusades  fit- 
tingly closed  with  the  life  of  the  most  saintly 
crusader.  His  first  Crusade  was  disastrous, 
occupying  years  of  his  life;  his  mother, 
Blanche  of  Castile,  dying  during  his  absence. 
His  second  and  last  was  more  costly  still.  Near 
the  ruins  of  Carthage,  where  he  was  in  conflict 
with  a  Mohometan  band,  he  was  stricken  with 
fever  and  died  (1270). 

Louis's  brother,  Charles  of  Anjou,  is  said 
to  have  led  him  into  this  fatal  attempt,  for  his 
own    purposes.      Charles,    of    very    different 


74  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

memory,  was  at  this  time,  by  invitation  of  the 
pope,  occupying  the  double  throne  of  Naples 
and  Sicily.  And  he  it  was  who  provoked  by 
his  cruelties  that  frightful  outbreak  known  as 
the  "  Sicilian  Vespers,"  in  1283^ 

The  Crusades  had  lasted  from  1095  to  1270. 
The  purpose  for  which  they  were  undertaken 
had  signally  failed.  Jerusalem,  captured  in 
the  first  Crusade,  was  lost  in  the  second,  and 
never  recovered.  And  so  ineffectual  had  been 
the  expenditure  of  life,  fortune,  and  enthusiasm 
that  the  last  Crusade  was  not  even  fought  in 
Palestine,  but  on  the  shores  of  North  Africa. 

But  something  had  been  accomplished  which 
none  had  foreseen :  a  result  of  greater  magni- 
tude than  territorial  possession  of  the  Holy 
Land.  Through  the  broadening  of  men's 
views,  and  the  common  heritage  of  a  great 
experience,  a  group  of  isolated  kingdoms  had 
been  drawn  into  fraternal  relations,  and  a 
European  civilization  had  commenced. 

There  had  been  many  surprises.  Close  con- 
tact had  softened  prejudices.  The  infidel  had 
found  that  the  crusader  was  something  more 
than  the  most  brutal  and  stupid  of  barbarians, 
as  he  had  supposed ;  and  the  crusader,  that  the 


A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.  75 

profaning  infidel  was  not  the  monster  he  ex- 
pected to  find.  In  fact,  the  European  discov- 
ered that  in  the  Saracen  and  the  Greek  they 
met  a  civiHzation  much  more  advanced,  more 
learned,  and  more  polished  than  their  own. 
More  civilization  was  brought  out  of  the  East 
than  was  carried  into  it  by  its  Christian  in- 
vaders. And  it  was  through  this  strange  and 
disastrous  experience  that  the  art  and  the 
thought  of  Europe  received  its  first  impulse 
toward  a  great  future. 

During  the  fifteen  years  of  the  reign  of 
Louis's  son,  Philip  III.,  France  moved  on  under 
the  momentum  received  from  his  father.  But 
the  succeeding  reign  of  Philip  IV.  was  epoch- 
making.  That  imperious,  strong-willed  son  of 
Saint  Louis  demanded  that  the  clergy  should 
share  the  state's  burden  by  contributing  to  its 
revenue.  Pope  Boniface  VIIL,  imperious  and 
strong-willed  as  he,  immediately  issued  a  bull, 
forbidding  the  clergy  to  pay,  or  the  officers  to 
receive,  such  taxes.  The  answer  to  this  was  a 
royal  edict  forbidding  the  exportation  of  pre- 
cious metals  (of  course  including  money)  from 
France  to  Italy,  thus  cutting  off  from  the 
pope  the  large  revenue  from  the  Church  in 
France.  ,  i . 


76  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

The  quarrel  resolved  itself  at  last  into  a  ques- 
tion of  the  relative  authority  of  king  and  pope 
in  the  kingdom.  In  order  to  fortify  his  posi- 
tion, and  perhaps  to  show  his  contempt  for 
clergy  and  barons  alike,  Philip  took  a  step 
which  profoundly  affected  the  future  of  France. 
At  a  great  council  summoned  to  consider  these 
papal  claims,  he  commanded  the  presence  not 
only  of  the  ecclesiastics  and  nobles,  the  two 
governing  estates,  but  also  summoned  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  towns  and  cities — the  Tiers 
Etat!  Prelate,  baron,  and  bourgeois  for  the 
first  time  met  in  a  Council  of  State. 

A  king  who  was  the  impersonation  of  abso- 
lutism had  created  the  States-General  (1302)  ; 
had  forged  the  instrument  which  would  event- 
ually effect  for  France  a  deliverance  from  mon- 
archy itself! 

The  cause  of  the  king  was  sustained  by  the 
council;  the  claims  of  the  pope  were  rejected 
Still  not  satisfied,  Philip  then  audaciously  pro- 
posed a  general  ecclesiastical  council  to  deter- 
mine whether  Boniface  legitimately  wore  the 
triple  crown.  When  the  old  man  died,  as  is 
said  from  the  shock  of  this  attempt,  the  king 
was  master  of  the  situation.     Gifts  had  already 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  77 

been  distributed  among  corrupt  cardinals  in  the 
conclave.  The  papacy  was  at  his  feet,  and 
might  be  in  his  hand.  The  most  dissolute  of 
his  own  archbishops  was  selected  as  his  tool, 
and,  as  Clement  V.,  succeeded  to  the  chair  of 
St.  Peter.  The  centre  of  the  ecclesiastical  world 
was  then  removed  from  Rome  to  Avignon, 
where  it  could  be  under  Philip's  immediate 
direction,  and  the  astonishing  period  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  papacy,  known  as  the  Babylonicm 
Captivity,  which  was  to  last  for  seventy  years, 
under  seven  popes,  had  commenced. 

The  Knights  Templar,  those  appointed  guar- 
dians of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  and  defenders  of 
Jerusalem,  it  is  to  be  supposed  were  not  in  sym- 
pathy with  these  things.  Whatever  the  cause, 
their  extermination  was  decreed.  Accused  of 
impossible  crimes,  the  whole  brotherhood  was 
arrested  in  one  day,  and,  at  a  summary  trial, 
condemned,  Philip  himself,  in  that  old  palace 
on  the  island  in  the  Seine,  giving  orders  for  the 
fagots  to  be  laid,  and  the  immediate  execution 
of  the  grand  master  and  many  others. 

Philip's  death,  occurring  as  it  did  soon  after 
this  sacrilege,  was  popularly  believed  to  be  a 
manifestation  of  God's  wrath ;  and  the  death  of 


78  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

his  three  sons,  Louis,  PhiHp,  and  Charles,  who 
successively  reigned  during  a  period  of  only 
fourteen  years,  leaving  the  family  extinct, 
seemed  a  further  proof  that  a  curse  rested  upon 
the  house. 

The  question  of  the  succession,  for  the  first 
time  since  Hugh  Capet,  v^as  in  doubt.  By 
the  existing  Salic  Law  only  male  descendants 
were  eligible  to  the  throne  of  France.  The 
three  sons  of  Philip  IV.  had  died,  leaving  each 
a  daughter,  so  the  son  of  Charles  of  Valois, 
only  brother  of  Philip  IV.,  was  the  nearest  in 
descent  from  Hugh  Capet ;  and  thus  the  crown 
passed  to  the  Valois  branch  of  the  family  in  the 
person  of  Philip  VI.  (1328). 


CHAPTER    IX. 

In  this  break  in  the  Hne  of  succession,  Eng- 
land saw  an  opportunity.  The  mother  of  Ed- 
ward III.,  King  of  England,  was  Isabella, 
daughter  of  Philip  IV.  Edward  claimed  that 
he,  as  grandson  of  the  French  king,  had  a 
claim  superior  to  that  of  the  nephew.  A  strict 
interpretation  of  the  Salic  Law  certainly  vi- 
tiated his  claim  of  heirship  through  the  female 
line.  But  Edward  did  not  stand  upon  such  a 
trifle  as  that.  The  stake  was  great,  and  so  was 
the  opportunity.  Now  England  might  not 
alone  recover  her  lost  possessions  in  France, 
but  might  establish  a  legitimate  claim  to  the 
whole. 

So  it  was  that  an  English  army  was  once 
more  upon  French  soil,  and  in  1346  Edward, 
with  his  toy  cannon,  had  won  the  battle  of 
Crecy,  followed  by  the  siege  and  capture  of 
Calais,  which  for  two  hundred  years  was  to  re- 
79 


8o  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

main  an  English  port — a  thorn  in  the  side  of 
France. 

A  part  of  the  old  kingdom  of  Burgundy, 
which  was  called  Dauphiny,  dropped  into  the 
lap  of  Philip,  this  first  Valois  king,  during  his 
reign.  The  old  duke,  being  without  an  heir, 
offered  to  sell  this  bit  of  territory  to  the  King  of 
France  upon  the  condition  that  it  should  be  kept 
as  the  personal  possession  of  the  eldest  sons  of 
the  kings  of  France.  Thenceforth  the  title  of 
Dauphin  was  worn  by  the  heir  to  the  throne, 
until  it  became  extinct  with  the  son  of  Louis 
XVI.  And  when  the  feeble  Philip  VI.  died  in 
1350,  his  son  John,  the  first  dauphin,  assumed 
the  crown  of  France. 

John,  this  second  Valois  king,  was  an  anach- 
ronism. A  man  intended  for  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury had  been  set  down  in  the  fourteenth.  The 
restoration  of  knightly  ceremonial,  tournaments 
at  the  Louvre,  the  details  of  a  new  Crusade 
which  he  was  planning,  and  the  distribution  of 
new  titles,  these  were  the  things  occupying  the 
mind  of  the  king,  while  his  kingdom,  rent  by 
factions  within,  was  in  a  death-struggle  with 
foes  from  without. 

A   fantastic   Don   Quixote,   on   a   tottering 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  8i 

j 
throne,  was  fighting  the  most  practical  states- 
man and  the  strongest-armed  warrior  Europe 
held  at  the  time. 

With  this  weakness  at  the  centre,  France  was 
again  falHng  into  fragments.  There  was  even 
a  resumption  of  private  wars  between  nobles; 
and,  most  paralyzing  of  all,  an  empty  treasury. 
Such  time  as  he  could  spare  from  his  main 
projects  John  gave  to  the  affairs  of  the  king- 
dom. First  of  all,  taxes  must  be  levied;  and 
when  the  first  tax  was  upon  salt,  King  Edward 
condescended  to  make  an  historic  witticism, 
saying  "  he  had  at  last  discovered  who  was  the 
author  of  the  Salic  Law!  " 

In  the  various  plans  for  raising  money,  it 
was  important  that  the  taxes  should  be  levied 
so  that  the  burden  would  fall  upon  those  who 
could,  and  who  would,  pay.  This  meant  the 
dwellers  in  the  towns  and  cities :  the  bour- 
geoisie. They  were  the  capitalists.  But  what 
if  they  should  refuse?  In  order  to  secure  the 
success  of  the  measure,  it  was  considered  wise 
to  obtain  their  consent  in  advance. 

When  King  John  asked  permission  of  the 
States-General  to  tax  them,  a  critical  line  wag 
passed.     That  body  for  the  first  time  realized 


82  A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

its  power.  It  might  make  its  own  terms.  It 
demanded  that  the  moneys  collected,  and  their 
expenditure,  should  be  under  the  direction  of 
its  officers.  Then,  growing  bolder,  it  demanded 
reforms :  Private  wars  must  cease ;  the  meetings 
of  the  States-General  must  be  at  appointed  in- 
tervals, without  being  summoned  by  the  king. 

These  meetings  at  Paris  grew  stormy.  Grad- 
ually re-enforced  with  a  vicious  element,  they 
were  soon  led  by  demagogues,  became  violent 
and  revolutionary,  and  finally  red  caps  and  bar- 
ricades, characteristic  of  Parisian  mobs  of  a 
later  period,  brought  the  whole  movement  into 
the  hands  of  the  agents  of  "  Charles  the  Bad," 
evil  genius  of  his  time,  who  saw  his  opportu- 
nity to  use  it  in  his  own  ambitious  designs  upon 
the  throne.  But  France  was  to  hear  from  the 
Tiers  Etat  again ! 

In  1356,  Edward's  son,  the  Black  Prince, 
won  a  still  greater  victory  than  Crecy,  at 
Poitiers,  in  which  king  John  was  captured  and 
carried  to  London. 

But  Edward  found  that,  while  victories  were 
comparatively  easy,  conquest  was  difficult.  A 
generation  had  passed  since  the  war  began. 
So  in  1360  both  kingdoms  were  ready  to  con- 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  83 

sider  terms  of  peace.  By  the  treaty  of  Bre- 
tigny,  Edward  renounced  the  claim  to  the 
French  throne,  and  received  in  full  sovereign- 
ty the  great  inheritance  Queen  Eleanor  had 
brought  to  Henry  II.  King  John  was  to  be 
released  and  his  son  held  as  hostage  until 
the  enormous  ransom  was  paid.  Of  course 
the  money  could  not  be  paid  by  impoverished 
France,  for  such  a  doubtful  benefit,  at  least ;  and 
so  the  son  and  hostage  made  his  escape.  Then 
King  John,  faithful  to  his  chivalrous  creed,  re- 
turned to  London  and  captivity,  dying  in  1364. 

The  dauphin,  who  had  now  become  Charles 
v.,  came  to  the  throne  with  the  determination 
of  restoring  France  to  herself.  His  attention 
had  been  drawn  to  the  military  talents  of  a 
Breton  youth — Bertrand  du  Guesclin.  Poor, 
diminutive  in  stature,  deformed,  he  had  raised 
himself  to  military  positions  usually  reserved  as 
a  reward  for  sons  of  nobles.  In  the  reopening 
of  a  war  with  England,  which  Charles  was 
planning,  du  Guesclin  was  to  be  the  sword  and 
he  the  brain. 

The  Black  Prince  had  gone  to  Spain  to  fight 
the  battles  of  Peter  the  Cruel,  in  a  civil  war  in 
which  the  Prince  was  involved  by  inheritance, 


84  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

and  was  levying  taxes  for  this  Castilian  war 
upon  his  new  subjects  in  Aquitaine.  The  peo- 
ple in  this  province  turned  to  Charles  to  deliver 
them  from  this  oppression.  He  immediately 
summoned  Prince  Edward  before  the  Court  of 
Peers;  to  which  the  Black  Prince  replied  that 
he  would  accept  the  invitation,  but  would  come 
with  his  helmet  on  his  head  and  sixty  thousand 
men  in  his  party. 

So  successfully  did  Charles  and  du  Guesclin 
meet  this  renewal  of  the  war  that  Prince  Ed- 
ward and  his  sixty  thousand  men  were  gradu- 
ally driven  north  until  the  English  possessions 
were  reduced  to  a  few  towns  upon  the  coast. 
The  Black  Prince,  under  the  weight  of  respon- 
sibility and  defeat,  succumbed  to  disease,  and 
died,  1377.  The  death  of  Edward  III.  oc- 
curred soon  after  that  of  his  son,  and  Richard 
II.  was  King  of  England. 

The  expulsion  of  the  English  was  not  the 
only  benefit  bestowed  by  Charles  V.  The 
revolting  States-General  were  restrained  and 
were  firmly  held  in  the  king's  hand.  Still 
more  important  was  the  reorganization  of  the 
military  system,  by  placing  it  under  the  com- 
mand of  officers  appointed  by  the  Crown,  who 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  85 

might  or  might  not  belong  to  the  order  of  no- 
bility. No  more  effective  blow  could  have 
been  aimed  at  feudalism,  which  was  nothing  if 
not  militant.  Indeed,  every  act  of  this  brief 
reign  was  a  protest  against  the  purposes  and 
ideals  of  his  father,  King  John,  who  was  the 
embodiment  of  the  ancient  spirit.  It  was  a 
needed  breathing-spell  between  a  half-century 
of  disaster  behind  and  another  half-century  of 
still  greater  disaster  before. 

The  death  of  Charles  V.  (1380)  left  the 
throne  to  a  delicate  boy  of  twelve  years,  who 
was  to  reign  under  the  successive  regencies  of 
three  uncles.  These  brothers  of  Charles,  and 
sons  of  the  romantic  King  John,  seem  to  rep- 
resent all  the  traits  and  passions  which  can  de- 
grade humanity.  The  oldest,  the  Duke  of 
Anjou,  was  driven  from  the  regency  after  steal- 
ing everything  which  was  movable  in  the  king's 
palace  and  vaults.  The  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
who  succeeded  him,  had  nobler  objects,  and 
needed  a  larger  field  for  his  ambitious  soul. 
He  had  an  eye  on  the  throne  itself.  And  when 
he  and  the  Duke  Berri,  at  the  instigation  of 
the  archbishop,  were  compelled  to  resign  the 
reins  to  the  young  King  Charles  VI.,  they  car- 


86  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

ried  with  them  to  their  own  castles  all  that 
Anjou  had  left.  Of  course  the  archbishop  was 
mysteriously  murdered,  and  then  the  boy  king 
was  married  to  Isabella  of  Bavaria,  said  to  be 
the  most  beautiful  and  the  wickedest  woman  in 
Europe. 

Charles  had  always  been  a  frail,  delicate  boy. 
As  he  was  riding  one  evening,  a  strange,  wild- 
looking  being  sprang  out  of  the  darkness  and 
seized  the  bridle  of  his  horse,  crying,  "  Fly, 
fly!  you  are  betrayed."  The  astonished  youth 
after  the  shock,  became  melancholy;  then  was 
suddenly  seized  with  a  fit  of  frenzy,  in  which 
he  killed  four  of  his  pages.  A  mad  king  was 
on  the  throne  of  France,  the  worst  woman  in 
Europe  regent,  and  three  uncles  waiting  like 
vultures  around  a  dying  man,  ready  to  seize 
anything  from  a  golden  candlestick  to  a  throne ! 

In  the  chaos  of  misrule  and  villainy  into 
which  France  was  falling,  the  determining  fac- 
tor was  the  deadly  feud  which  existed  between 
the  house  of  Burgundy  and  that  of  Orleans. 
Upon  the  death  of  the  first  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
his  son  John  seized  the  regency  for  himself, 
snatching  it  from  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  the 
king's  brother.     At  this  point  started  the  feud 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  87 

■which  was  to  tear  France  asunder  from  end 
to  end.  While  the  Orleanists  were  gathering 
their  adherents  to  drive  him  out,  John  was  in- 
trenching himself  in  Paris.  Like  many  another 
villain,  this  Duke  of  Burgimdy  posed  as  the 
friend  of  the  people.  He  could  doff  his  cap 
and  speak  smilingly  to  starving  men.  He 
knew  how  to  work  upon  their  passions,  and  to 
please  by  torturing  and  executing  those  they 
believed  had  wronged  them.  He  told  them 
how  he  pitied  them  for  the  extortions  of  the 
Duke  of  Orleans  and  Queen  Isabella,  kindly 
giving  them  pikes  to  defend  themselves,  and 
iron  chains  to  barricade  their  streets,  if  they 
should  be  needed.  Then,  extending  his  hand 
to  his  enemy  of  Orleans,  brother  of  the  king, 
they  were  reconciled  :  the  past  was  to  be  buried. 
Then  it  is  a  pleasant  picture  we  behold  of  the 
period :  the  two  friends  partaking  together  of 
communion,  and  dining,  and  then  embracing  at 
parting  with  effusive  words  and  promises  to 
meet  at  a  dance  on  the  morrow,  the  unsuspect- 
ing Duke  of  Orleans  going  out  into  the  dark, 
where  hired  assassins  were  waiting  to  hack  him 
in  pieces.  Then  a  court  of  justice  trying  and 
acquitting    this    confessed    murderer    of    the 


88  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

king's  brother,  upon  the  ground  that  tyranni- 
cide is  a  duty ;  the  sad,  crazed  wraith  of  a  king 
saying  the  words  he  had  been  taught :  "  Fair 
cousin,  we  pardon  you  all."  And  the  tragedy 
and  comedy  were  over ! 

There  was  now  no  check  upon  the  Burgun- 
dian  power.  In  the  worst  days  of  English  oc- 
cupation of  her  land,  France  had  been  in  less 
danger  from  Edward  III.  than  she  now  was 
from  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  champion  and  de- 
fender of  the  people !  The  immediate  object  of 
the  Burgundian  or  people's  party,  and  the  Or- 
leans and  aristocratic  party,  was  the  possession 
of  the  person  of  the  king,  and  control  of  his 
acts  during  his  few  lucid  moments. 

There  was  civil  war  in  a  land  divested  of 
every  vestige  of  government.  England  would 
have  been  blind  had  she  not  seen  her  oppor- 
tunity; but,  too  much  occupied  with  her  own 
revolution,  she  had  to  wait.  And  when  Henry 
IV.,  the  first  Lancastrian,  was  king,  he  needed 
both  hands  to  hold  his  crown  firmly  on  his  head. 
But  when  the  young  Henry  V.  came  to  the 
throne,  with  the  energy  and  ambition  of  youth, 
the  time  was  ripe  for  the  recovery  of  the  lost- 
possessions  in  France 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE,  89 

The  battle  of  Agincourt  (141 5)  reopened  the 
war  with  a  great  defeat  for  the  French  chivalry, 
which  represented  the  Orleanist  party.  The 
wholesale  slaughter  of  princes,  bishops,  and 
knights  on  this  fatal  day  was  clear  gain  for  the 
traitor  Burgundy,  the  champion  of  the  people ! 
The  climax  of  his  villainy  was  at  hand. 

Henry  V.,  at  Rouen,  was  openly  holding  his 
court  as  King  of  France.  John,  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy, accompanied  by  Queen  Isabella,  pre- 
sented himself  to  the  invading  king,  and  for- 
mally pledged  his  support  and  that  of  his 
followers  to  the  cause  of  the  English! 

The  infamous  treaty  of  Troyes  was  signed, 
1420.  It  provided  that  Henry  should  act  as 
regent  to  Charles  VI.  while  he  lived;  that 
upon  the  death  of  that  unhappy  being  he  should 
be  Henry  V.  of  England  and  Henry  II.  of 
France;  and  that  the  two  kingdoms  should 
thereafter  exist  under  one  crown.  The  roman- 
tic marriage  of  Henry  with  the  Princess  Kath- 
arine, daughter  of  Charles  and  Isabella,  which 
was  part  of  the  agreement,  was  solemnized 
in  that  old  palace  on  the  island  in  the  Seine. 
And  the  same  vaulted  ceilings  which  we  may 
see  to-day,  looked  down  upon  this  historic  mar- 


9©  A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

riage,  as  they  also  did  upon  the  condemnation 
of  Marie  Antoinette,  three  and  a  half  centuries 
later.  W'e  know  of  this  union  of  Henry  and 
the  fair  Katharine  chiefly  through  the  pen  of 
Shakespeare,  in  his  play  of  Henry  V. 

But  Henr}'  was  destined  never  to  wear  the 
crown  of  France,  nor  even  to  see  his  own  land 
again.  There  were  only  two  more  years  of 
life  for  him.  His  death  occurred  in  his  pal- 
ace of  tlie  Louvre,  a  few  weeks  before  that  of 
Charles  \'I.,  and  the  crown  he  expected  to  wear 
upon  this  event  passed  to  his  infant  son,  who 
was  by  the  Burgundian  party  recognized  as 
King  of  France. 

A  careless,  pleasure-loving  dauphin,  just 
twenty,  apparently  indifferent  to  the  loss  of  a 
kingdom,  was  a  frail  support  at  such  a  time. 
Only  a  fragment  of  the  countr}'  was  held  by 
his  followers,  the  Orleanists ;  Scotland  had 
come  to  his  aid  with  a  few  thousand  men,  but 
-what  did  this  avail  with  the  greater  part  of  the 
kingdom  held  by  the  Burgundians,  while  town 
after  town  was  declaring  its  allegiance  to  the 
English  Duke  of  Bedford,  whom  his  dying 
brother,  Henr\'  V.,  had  named  as  regent  for  his 
infant  son. 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  91 

The  city  of  Orleans,  held  by  the  dauphin's 
adherents,  was  besieged.  It  was  the  key  to  the 
situation.  Its  fall  meant  the  fall  of  the  king- 
dom, the  conquest  of  France.  When  this  hap- 
pened, that  infant  at  the  Louvre  would  really 
be  the  wearer  of  the  crown.  So  hopeless  was 
the  situation  that  the  spiritless  Charles  was 
only  in  doubt  whether  to  take  refuge  in  Scot- 
land or  in  Spain. 

But  although  towns  and  cities  had  deserted 
him,  the  heart  of  the  people  had  not.  Patriot- 
ism, dead  ever}'where  else,  still  lived  in  the  heart 
of  that  forgotten  multitude  lying  silent  and 
humble  under  the  feet  of  its  masters.  The 
monarchy  had  been  their  friend,  their  only 
friend.  The  Church  had  deserted  them,  and 
joined  their  enemies  the  nobles.  But  to  the 
people,  the  name  King  expressed  gratitude  and 
hope ;  and  the}^  loved  it. 

If  a  great  spreading  tree  full  of  verdure  had 
arisen  in  a  day  out  of  the  barren  breast  of 
^Mother  Earth,  it  would  scarcely  have  been  a 
greater  miracle  that  what  really  happened 
when  a  child  of  the  soil,  a  girl,  rising  trium- 
phant over  the  disabilities  Oi  age,  sex,  birth, 
and  condition,  saved  France  from  destruction. 


92  A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

Summoned  by  celestial  voices,  by  angels  whom 
she  not  only  heard  but  saw,  Joan  of  Arc  started 
upon  her  mission  of  rescue  for  France! 

When  this  daughter  of  the  people,  this  peas- 
ant from  Domremy,  was  admitted  to  the  pres- 
ence of  the  dauphin,  it  is  said  that  in  amuse- 
ment and  in  order  to  test  the  reality  of  her 
mission,  Charles  exchanged  dress  with  one  of 
his  courtiers.  But  the  maid  going  straight  to 
him,  said :  "  Gentle  dauphin,  I  come  to  restore 
to  you  the  crown  of  France.  Orleans  shall  be 
saved  by  me.  And  you,  by  the  help  of  God 
and  my  Lady  St.  Catharine,  shall  be  crowned  at 
Rheims." 

On  the  29th  of  April  the  maid  did  enter  the 
fainting  city.  And  she  did  lead  the  dauphin 
to  Rheims  for  his  coronation.  And  then, 
kneeling  at  his  feet,  asked  the  "  Gentle  King  " 
to  let  her  go  back  to  her  sheep  at  Domremy. 
"  For,"  she  said,  "  they  love  me  more  than 
these  thousands  of  people  I  have  seen." 

Unhappily,  she  did  not  return  to  her  sheep, 
but  remained  among  those  wolves,  and  was  cap- 
tured and  a  prisoner  of  the  English. 

What  should  they  do  with  this  strange  being, 
claiming  supernatural   powers?     The   Regent 


From  tlie  painting  by  Lenepveu. 

Burnin<^  of  Joan  of  Arc  at   Rouen,   May  30,    1  l-.')1. 


A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.  93 

Duke  of  Bedford  denounced  her  as  a  rebel 
against  the  infant  king;  and  the  Bishop  of 
Beauvais  as  a  blasphemer  and  child  of  the 
devil.  Nothing  could  be  clearer  than  her  guilt 
upon  both  of  these  charges!  And  on  the  13th 
of  May,  1 43 1,  this  mysteriously  inspired  child 
was  burnt  by  a  slow  fire  in  the  market-place  of 
Rouen.  And  the  "  Gentle  King,"  where  was 
he  while  this  was  happening  ? 

It  must  ever  remain  a  mystery  that  a  peas- 
ant girl,  a  child  in  years  and  in  experience, 
should  have  believed  herself  called  to  such  a 
mission ;  that  conferring  only  with  her  heavenly 
guides,  or  "  voices,"  she  should  have  sought  the 
king,  inspired  him  with  faith  in  her,  and  in 
himself  and  his  cause,  reanimated  the  courage 
of  the  army,  and  led  it  herself  to  victory  abso- 
lute and  complete;  and  then,  have  compelled 
the  half-reluctant,  half-doubting  Charles  to  go 
with  her  to  Rheims,  there  to  be  anointed  and 
consecrated;  this  simple  child  in  that  day  be- 
stowing upon  him  a  kingdom,  and  upon  France 
a  king ! 

Was  there  ever  a  stranger  chapter  in  history ! 
Alas,  if  it  could  have  ended  here,  and  she  could 
have  gone  back  to  her  mother  and  her  spinning 


94-         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

and  her  simple  pleasures,  as  she  was  always 
longing  to  do  when  her  work  should  be  done. 
But  no!  we  see  her  falling  into  the  hands  of 
the  defeated  and  revengeful  English — this 
child,  who  had  wrested  from  them  a  kingdom 
already  in  their  grasp.  She  was  turned  over 
to  the  French  ecclesiastical  court  to  be  tried. 
A  sorceress  and  a  blasphemer  they  pronounce 
her,  and  pass  her  on  to  the  secular  authorities, 
and  her  sentence  is — death. 

We  see  the  poor  defenceless  girl,  bewildered, 
terrified,  wringing  her  hands  and  declaring  her 
innocence  as  she  rides  to  execution.  God  and 
man  had  abandoned  her.  No  heavenly  voice 
spoke,  no  miracle  intervened  as  her  young  limbs 
were  tied  to  the  stake  and  the  fagots  and  straw 
piled  up  about  her.  The  torch  was  applied,  and 
her  pure  soul  mounted  heavenward  in  a  column 
of  flames. 

Rugged  men  wept.  A  Burgundian  general 
said,  as  he  turned  gloomily  away,  "  We  have 
murdered  a  saint." 

And  Charles,  sitting  upon  the  throne  she  had 
rescued  for  him,  what  was  he  doing  to  save 
her?  Nothing — to  his  everlasting  shame  be  it 
said,  nothing.     He  might  not  have  succeeded; 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  95 

the  effort  at  rescue,  or  to  stay  the  event,  might 
have  been  unavaihng.  But  where  was  his 
knighthood,  where  his  manhood,  that  he  did  not 
try,  or  utter  passionate  protest  against  her  fate  ? 
Twenty-five  years  later  we  see  him  erecting 
statues  to  her  memory,  and  "  rehabihtating  " 
her  desecrated  name.  And  to-day,  the  Church 
which  condemned  her  for  blasphemy  is  placing 
her  upon  the  calendar  of  saints. 


CHAPTER    X. 

Charles  VII.  in  creating  a  standing  army 
struck  feudalism  a  deadly  blow.  His  son,  Louis 
XI.,  with  cold-blooded  brutality  finished  the 
work.  This  man's  powerful  and  crafty  intelli- 
gence saw  in  an  alliance  with  the  common  peo- 
ple a  means  of  absorbing  to  himself  supreme 
power.  Not  since  Tiberius  had  there  been  a 
more  blood-thirsty  monster  on  a  throne.  But 
he  demolished  the  political  structure  of  medise- 
valism  in  his  kingdom ;  and  when  his  cruel  reign 
was  ended  the  Middle  Ages  had  passed  away, 
and  modern  life  had  begun  in  France. 

There  was  no  longer  even  the  pretence  of 
knightly  virtues  in  France.  It  was  time  for 
the  high-bom  robbers  and  ruffians  in  steel  hel- 
mets to  give  place  to  men  with  hearts  and 
brains.  It  is  said  that  of  those  thousands,  that 
chivalric  host,  which  was  slaughtered  at  Agin- 
court,  not  one  in  twenty  could  write  his  name. 
All  alike  were  cruel  and  had  the  instincts  o£ 
96 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  97 

barbarians.  While  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  the 
richest  prince  in  Europe,  was  starving  his  ene- 
mies in  secret  dungeons  in  the  Bastille,  his 
Orleans  rival,  Count  of  Armagnac,  not  having 
access  to  the  Bastille,  was  decapitating  Burgun- 
dians  till  his  executioners  fainted  from  fatigue. 
It  is  almost  with  relief  that  we  read  of  the 
slaughter  of  these  knightly  savages  at  Agin- 
court.  If  the  shipwreck  of  a  mighty  kingdom 
was  to  be  averted,  two  things  must  be  done. 
The  decaying  corpse  of  feudalism  must  be 
thrown  overboard,  and  the  Church  must  be 
purified.  Both  had  fallen  from  the  ideals 
which  created  them;  the  ideal  of  truth,  justice, 
and  spotless  honor,  and  the  ideal  of  divine  love 
and  mercy.  Even  the  semblance  of  truth  and 
justice  and  honor  had  departed  from  the  one; 
and  unspeakable  corruption  had  crept  into  the 
other.  From  the  day  of  the  Albigensian  cruel- 
ties, the  heart  of  the  Church  had  turned  to  stone, 
and  the  spark  of  life  divine  within  seemed  ex- 
tinguished. Once  the  guardian  of  the  helpless, 
it  had  deserted  the  people  and  made  common 
cause  with  their  oppressors.  One  pope  at 
Rome,  and  another  at  Avignon,  was  a  heavy 
burden   to  carry.     But   when  three   infallible 


.98  A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

beings  were  hurling  anathemas  at  each  other, 
the  University  of  Paris  led  Christendom  in 
rejecting  them  all. 

So  the  two  great  classes  for  which  the  State 
existed  were  overweighting  the  ship  at  a  time 
when  it  was  being  torn  and  tossed  by  a  storm 
of  gigantic  proportions. 

Well  was  it  for  France  that  Charles  VII.,  as 
king,  developed  unexpected  firmness  and  abil- 
ity. The  creation  of  a  standing  army,  and  the 
disbanding  of  all  military  organizations  exist- 
ing without  the  king's  commission,  at  one 
sweeping  blow  completed  the  wreck  of  feudal- 
ism. It  only  remained  for  Charles's  cold- 
blooded son,  Louis  XI.,  to  finish  the  work,  and 
mediaevalism  was  a  thing  of  the  past  in  France. 

The  reign  of  Charles  was  imbittered  by  the 
conduct  of  this  unnatural  son,  whose  undis- 
guised impatience  to  assume  the  crown  so 
alarmed  him  that  it  is  said  he  shortened  his  own 
life  by  abstaining  from  food  in  the  fear  that 
the  dauphin  might  lay  the  guilt  of  parricide 
upon  his  soul. 

This  heart-broken,  desolate  old  man  died  in 
1461.     And  Louis  XL  was  King  of  France. 

The  son  of  Charles  VII.  was  a  composite  of 


A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRAxWCE.  99 

the  wisest  and  the  worst  of  his  predecessors. 
Indeed,  it  is  to  the  Roman  emperors  we  must 
look  for  a  parallel  to  this  monster  on  a  throne. 
And  yet,  to  no  other  king  does  France  owe 
such  a  debt  of  gratitude.  His  remorseless 
hand  placed  a  great  gulf  between  the  new  and 
the  old,  in  which  were  forever  buried  the  men 
and  the  system  which  had  fed  upon  her  life. 

The  antagonism  between  the  son  and  the 
father  aroused  great  hopes  of  a  reversal  of 
policy  and  a  rehabilitation  of  feudalism.  These 
hopes  were  soon  undeceived.  So  inscrutable 
and  so  tortuous  was  the  policy  of  this  strange 
being,  so  unexpected  his  changes  of  direction, 
so  false  and  inconsistent  his  words  and  acts, 
and  so  unspeakably  cruel  the  means  to  his  ends, 
that  a  cowed  and  bewildered  nation  was  soon 
crouching  at  his  feet,  not  knowing  whither  he 
was  leading  them. 

Warfare  played  no  part  in  this  reign.  In- 
vasion was  met  by  diplomacy,  and  slaughter 
and  bloodshed  were  relegated  to  the  execu- 
tioner. Incredible  as  it  seems,  it  is  said  that 
from  his  windows  this  king  could  look  out 
upon  an  avenue  of  gibbets  upon  which  hung  the 
bodies  of  his  enemies.     The  humorous  spirit  in 


lOo         A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

which  he  disposed  of  obstructive  nobles  is  illus- 
trated by  a  note  to  an  unsuspecting  victim. 
"  Fair  cousin,  come  and  give  us  your  advice. 
We  have  need  of  so  wise  a  head  as  yours." 
And  in  the  morning  the  fair  cousin's  wise  head 
was  in  a  basket  filled  with  sawdust! 

When  all  was  done,  a  town  council  meant 
more  than  the  "  Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece  " ; 
and,  pari  passu,  with  the  humiliation  of  the 
noble  came  the  elevation  of  the  bourgeois.  A 
nameless  adventurer  would  be  admitted  to  con- 
fidential intimacy  when  a  Montmorenci  could 
not  get  beyond  his  antechamber. 

In  fact,  this  levelling  up  and  levelling  down 
was  the  object  of  all  this  king's  odious  crimes 
and  the  central  purpose  of  his  cold-blooded 
reign.  If  a  patent  of  nobility  was  a  pretty 
good  passport  to  the  scaffold,  good  service  in  a 
town  council  was  an  open  door  to  elevation. 

So,  judged  by  results,  Louis  XL  was  a  better 
king  than  many  a  better  man  had  been.  He 
buried  the  ideals  of  the  past  fathoms  deep  and 
then  stamped  them  down  with  remorseless  feet. 
He  demolished  the  political  structure  of  medise- 
valism  in  his  kingdom,  and  when  his  terrible 
reign  was  ended,  in  1483,  the  Middle  Ages  had 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         lor 

passed  away  and  modern  life  had  begun  in 
France. 

Almost  any  reign  would  have  seemed  color- 
less after  that  of  Louis  XL  But  that  of  his 
son,  Charles  VIIL,  was  made  memorable  by  one 
event,  an  invasion  of  Italy,  which  brought  to 
France  a  long  train  of  disastrous  consequences. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  Charles,  Duke  of  Anjou,  of  Sicilian 
fame,  or  infamy,  and  brother  of  Louis  the 
Saint,  occupied  the  throne  of  Naples  by  invita- 
tion of  the  pope. 

The  family  of  Anjou  having  recently  become 
extinct,  Charles  was  now  the  rightful  heir  to 
that  throne.  So  as  there  was  nothing  in  espe- 
cial for  him  to  do  at  home,  and  as  his  new  army, 
created  and  equipped  by  his  father,  was  a  very 
splendid  affair  for  that  day,  and  as  Charles  was 
young  and  ambitious  of  a  name,  he  determined 
to  take  forcible  possession  of  his  inheritance  in 
Italy. 

The  success  of  the  enterprise  was  quite  daz- 
zling. Milan,  Florence,  Rome,  were  success- 
ively occupied,  and  finally  Charles  was  actually 
seated  upon  the  throne  in  Naples  (i495)- 

But   the   seat   was   not   comfortable.     The 


102         A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

Neapolitans  did  not  want  him;  and,  what  was 
more  important,  Spain,  England,  and  Austria 
talked  of  uniting  to  drive  him  out.  And  so 
he  and  his  army  returned  to  France,  and  all 
that  had  been  gained  by  the  enterprise  was  a 
wide-open  door  between  France  and  Italy  at 
the  very  time  when  it  might  better  have  been 
kept  closed,  and  the  discovery  by  Europe  that 
the  Italian  peninsula  was  an  easy  prey  to  any 
ambitious  European  power.  What  Charles  had 
done  might  also,  and  more  effectually,  be  done 
by  England,  Spain,  or  Austria.  All  of  which 
bore  bitter  fruit  in  the  next  century. 

But  for  France  the  fruit  was  of  a  more 
deadly  kind.  The  princely  and  noble  blood  of 
Italy  beg^n  to  be  mingled  with  hers,  bringing 
a  vicious  and  corrupt  strain  at  a  critical  period. 

Old  as  she  was  in  centuries,  France  was  but 
a  child  in  civilization.  An  uncouth,  untutored 
child,  just  emerging  from  barbarism,  was  sud- 
denly brought  under  the  influence  of  a  fasci- 
nating, highly  developed  civilization,  old  in 
wickedness.  A  nation  in  which  the  ruling  class 
had  only  recently  learned  to  read  and  write  was 
naturally  dazzled  by  this  sister  nation,  satu- 
rated with  the  learning  and  culture  of  the  ages. 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         103 

mistress  of  every  brilliant  art  and  accomplish- 
ment; who  after  having  run  the  whole  gamut 
of  human  experience,  drunk  at  every  known 
fountain,  had  arrived  at  the  code  summed  up 
by  Machiavelli  as  the  best  by  which  to  live! 
It  was  an  easy  task  for  the  Medici  to  control 
the  policy,  as  they  did  for  generations,  of  such 
simple  barbarians. 

Italy  presents  a  strange  spectacle  in  this  clos- 
ing fifteenth  century:  All  the  concentrated 
splendor  from  the  fall  of  Byzantium  hanging 
over  her  like  a  luminous  cloud  before  dispersing 
as  the  Renaissance;  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  at 
Florence,  directing  the  intellectual  currents  of 
Europe;  Angelo  and  Raphael  creating  the 
world's  sublimest  masterpieces  in  art ;  her  great 
Genoese  son  uncovering  another  hemisphere; 
Savonarola,  like  an  inspired  prophet  of  old, 
calling  upon  men  to  "  repent,  repent,  while 
there  is  yet  time  ";  Machiavelli  instructing  the 
nations  of  the  earth  in  villainy  as  a  fine  art ;  and 
Alexander  VI.,  the  basest  man  in  Europe,  poi- 
soner, father  of  every  crime,  claiming  to  be 
Vicegerent  of  Christ  upon  earth ! 

But  the  currents  were  moving  swiftly  toward 
a  crisis  which  was  to  change  all  this.     One 


104         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

more  pope,  that  magnificent  patron  of  art^ 
Julius  11. ,  creator  of  the  Vatican  Museum, 
with  the  recently  found  Apollo  Belvedere,  and 
the  Laocoon  as  a  splendid  nucleus,  and  pro- 
jector and  builder  of  St.  Peter's.  And  then  Leo 
X,   (Medicean  Pope)  and  Luther! 

The  year  1492  contained  three  important 
events :  the  discovery  of  a  new  world,  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Moors  from  Spain,  and  the  death 
of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici.  Spain's  crusade  of 
seven  hundred  years  was  over.  We  must 
search  in  vain  for  any  struggle  to  match  this 
In  singleness  and  persistence  of  purpose.  Com- 
mencing one  hundred  years  before  Charle- 
magne created  a  Holy  Roman  Empire,  it 
ended  triumphantly  under  a  king  and  queen 
who  were  to  play  a  leading  part  in  the 
Reformation. 

The  stage  was  making  ready,  and  the  char- 
acters were  assembling  for  the  great  modem 
drama,  in  a  century  even  more  significant  than 
the  one  then  closing. 

The  reign  of  Charles  VIII.  ended  in  1498. 
And  as  he  left  no  son,  the  succession  once  more 
passed  to  a  collateral  branch  :  Louis  XII.,  of  the 
House  of  Orleans,  wore  the  crown  of  France. 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         105 

It  is  interesting  to  recall  that  these  two  kings, 
Charles  and  Louis,  were  respectively  grandsons 
of  those  two  ambitious  dukes  whose  personal 
feud  brought  France  to  the  verge  of  ruin  a  few 
decades  earlier :  Louis  XIL  being  the  descend- 
ant of  that  Duke  of  Orleans,  brother  of  Charles 
VL,  the  reigning  king,  who  was  murdered  in 
the  streets  of  Paris;  while  Charles  VIIL  was 
the  descendant  of  his  slayer,  the  terrible  Duke 
of  Burgundy,  evil  genius  of  France  at  that 
time. 

The  principal  event  in  the  reign  of  the  new 
king  was  the  reopening  of  the  Italian  War  by 
the  combined  and  successful  action  of  Spain 
and  France.  But  this  proved  a  barren  triumph 
for  Louis,  who,  when  all  was  done,  found  that 
he  had  been  simply  aiding  that  artful  diplo- 
matist, Ferdinand,  in  securing  the  whole  prize 
for  Spain.  The  disagreement  growing  out  of 
the  distribution  of  the  spoil  resulted  in  a  war 
between  the  late  allies;  and  it  was  in  this 
wretched  conflict  that  Bayard,  chevalier  sans 
peur  et  sans  reproche,  was  sacrificed. 

Louis  died  in  15 15,  also  without  an  heir;  and 
so  the  crown  passed  to  still  another  collateral 
branch  of  the  main  Capetian  line.     The  Count 


lo6         A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

of  Angouleme,  cousin  of  the  dead  king,  was 
proclaimed  Francis  I. 

The  fall  of  Constantinople  in  the  East,  and 
the  discovery  of  a  new  world  in  the  West,  were 
changing  the  whole  aspect  of  Europe.  The  art 
of  printing,  coming  almost  simultaneously  with 
these  transforming  events,  sent  vitalizing  cur- 
rents reaching  even  to  the  humblest,  France 
partook  of  the  general  awakening  and  was 
throwing  off  the  torpor  of  centuries.  New 
ambitions  were  aroused,  and  her  slumbering 
genius  began  to  be  stirred.  This  was  a  pro- 
pitious moment  for  an  ambitious  young  king 
who  aimed  not  only  at  being  the  greatest  of 
military  heroes,  but  also  the  splendid  patron  of 
art  and  letters,  and  wisest  of  men!  The  role 
he  had  set  for  himself  being,  in  fact,  a  Charle- 
magne and  a  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  in  one.  All 
that  was  needed  for  success  in  this  large  field 
was  ability.  Personal  valor  Francis  certainly 
possessed.  His  reign  opened  brilliantly  with  a 
campaign  in  the  Italian  peninsula,  which  left 
him  after  the  battle  of  Marignano,  master  of 
the  Milanese  and  of  northern  Italy.  He  need 
not  trouble  himself  as  had  his  predecessors 
about  recalcitrant  and  scheming  nobles.     They 


A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.         107 

had  never  been  heard  from  since  Louis  XL  took 
them  in  hand.  Neither  were  the  States-Gen- 
eral going  to  annoy  him  by  assertion  of  rights 
and  demands  for  reforms.  They  too  had 
become  almost  non-existent;  it  having  been 
well  established  that  only  the  direst  emergency 
would  ever  call  them  into  being  again.  So 
kingship  held  sole  and  undisputed  sway,  and 
Francis  was  looking  about  to  see  where  he 
might  make  it  even  stronger. 

The  residence  of  the  popes,  at  Avignon,  dur- 
ing the  period  of  the  Great  Schism,  had  led  to 
the  establishment  by  Charles  VIL  of  an  ordi- 
nance called  the  Pragmatic  Sanction;  its  object 
being  the  limitation  of  the  papal  power  in 
France.  The  pope  by  this  ordinance  was  cut 
off  from  certain  lucrative  sources  of  income; 
to  offset  which  the  king  was  deprived  of  the 
right  of  appointing  officers  for  vacant  bishop- 
rics and  abbeys. 

Francis  I.  and  Leo  X.  came  together,  and, 
after  conferring,  determined  that  the  Pragmatic 
Sanction  should  be  repudiated;  Leo,  because 
he  must  increase  his  revenues,  and  Francis, 
because  he  desired  to  use  appointments  to  rich 
vacancies  as  rewards  for  his  friends.     Leo's 


lo8         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

tastes,  as  we  know,  were  magnificent,  and 
needed  much  more  money  than  he  could  com- 
mand; a  fact  which  led  to  grave  results,  and 
changed  the  course  of  events  in  the  world  1 

In  1 516  Ferdinand  L,  King  of  Spain,  died, 
leaving  his  enormous  possessions  to  his  grand- 
son, Charles,  a  youth  not  yet  twenty.  The 
mother  of  this  boy  was  Joanna,  the  insane 
daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  who  was 
married  to  the  son  and  heir  of  Maxmilian  L, 
Emperor  of  Germany. 

The  young  Charles,  by  the  death  of  his 
father,  had  already  inherited  the  Netherlands 
and  Flanders ;  to  which  by  the  death  of  his  ma- 
ternal grandfather  there  was  now  added  Spain, 
the  kingdom  of  Naples,  Mexico,  and  Peru.  A 
heavy  enough  burden,  one  would  think,  for 
young  shoulders.  But  it  was  to  become  still 
heavier.  In  15 19  his  other  grandfather,  Maxi- 
milian I.,  died,  leaving  the  throne  of  the  empire 
vacant. 

This  office  by  ancient  custom,  established  by 
Charlemagne,  was  elective,  and  theoretically 
was  open  to  any  prince  in  Europe.  But  with 
the  seven  princes  known  as  electors,  with  whom 
rested  choice  of  the  successor,  hereditary  claim 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         109  1 

had  great  weight.     Europe  saw  with  dismay 
the  imminent  creation  of  an  empire  greater 
than  that  of  Charlemagne — an  empire  which 
would  cover  a  large  part  of  the  map  of  Europe 
and  of  America.     For  none  was  this  so  alarm- 
ing as  for  France,  which  would  in  fact  be  en- 
veloped upon  almost  every  side  by  this  giant 
among  the   nations.      A   French   king  would 
indeed  have  been  dull  and  spiritless  not  to  real- 
ize the  magnitude  of  the  danger,  and  Francis 
was  neither.     There  was  only  a  youth  of  nine- 
teen standing  between  him  and  the  greatest  dig- 
nity in  Europe.     It  was  not  alone  an  oppor- 
tunity to  save  France  from  this  overshadowing 
power,  but  to  reunite  the  crowns  of  France  and 
the  empire  as  originally  designed  by  Charle- 
magne.    No   role   could  have   better  pleased 
Francis  I.     He  announced  himself  a  claimant 
for  the  vacant  throne  (under  the  clause  opening 
it  to  European  princes) ,  claiming  that  his  own- 
ership of  the  adjacent  territory  of  Northern 
Italy  made  him  the  natural  successor  to  the 
imperial  throne. 

Then  another  ambitious  young  king  ap- 
peared as  another  rival  claimant,  Henry  VIII. 
of  England,  with  his  astute  Minister  Woolsey 


no         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

to  fight  the  diplomatic  battles  for  his  master. 
It  was  a  brilliant  game,  played  by  great  players 
for  a  great  stake:  Francis  lavishly  bribing 
and  dazzling  by  theatrical  displays  of  splendor ; 
Henry  arrogant,  ostentatious,  vain,  and  Charles 
silent,  inscrutable,  cold-blooded,  and  false, 
whispering  to  Woolsey  that  he  might  make  hira 
pope  at  the  next  election.  From  that  moment 
the  powerful  influence  of  the  Cardinal  was  used 
for  this  sedate  youth,  this  wise  youth,  who  saw 
that  the  fitting  place  for  him  (Woolsey)  was 
the  chair  of  St.  Peter ! 

The  diplomacy  of  the  boy  of  nineteen  won 
the  prize.  The  electors  gave  the  crown  to 
Charles  V.  Leo  X.  died  soon  after.  Woolsey 
waited  in  hourly  expectation  of  the  summons  to 
Rome.     But  it  never  came ! 

Then  Francis  resolved  to  win  by  force  what 
he  had  lost  by  diplomacy.  Charles  succeeded 
in  winning  the  pope  to  his  side  of  the  contest 
with  the  purpose  of  driving  the  French  out  of 
Italy.  The  attempt  quickly  ended  in  the  de- 
feat of  the  French,  and  for  Francis  capture, 
and  a  year's  imprisonment  in  Madrid;  his  re- 
lease only  obtained  by  abandoning  all  claims 
upon  Italy ;  and  in  1 547  the  showy  and  ineff ec- 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OP  FRANCE.         HI 

tual  reign  of  Francis  I.  was  terminated  by  his 
death,  which  occurred  almost  immediately  after 
that  of  Henry  VIII.  in  England. 

While  these  events  were  taking  place,  a  less 
conspicuous  but  vastly  more  significant  conflict 
had  developed.  In  15 17,  Martin  Luther,  the 
obscure  monk,  had  hurled  defiance  at  the  Church 
of  Rome,  arraigning  Leo  X.  for  corrupt  prac- 
tices; especially  the  enrichment  of  the  Church 
by  the  sale  of  indulgences.  Germany  was 
shaken  to  its  centre  by  Protestantism,  and  the 
reign  of  Charles  V.  was  to  be  spent  in  ineffect- 
ual conflict  with  the  Reformation,  which  would 
ultimately  tear  the  Empire  asunder. 

The  new  heresy  had  found  congenial  soil  in 
France.  England  was  openly  and  avowedly 
Protestant,  while  Spain  and  Italy  remained  un- 
changeably Catholic. 

For  Francis,  destined  to  spend  his  life  in 
fruitless  contest  with  the  more  able,  wily,  and 
astute  Charles  V.,  the  religious  question  upon 
which  Europe  was  divided  meant  nothing  ex- 
cept at  he  could  use  it  in  his  duel  with  the  em- 
peror. He  was  in  turn  the  ally  of  Henry  VIII. 
or  the  willing  tool  of  Charles  V.  If  he  needed 
the  English  king's  friendship,  the  Protestants 


112         A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

had  protection.  If  he  desired  to  placate  Charles 
v.,  the  roastings  and  torturings  commenced 
again. 

In  1547  Francis  and  Henry  VIII.  each  went 
to  his  reward,  and  a  few  years  later  Charles 
V.  had  laid  down  his  crown  and  carried  his 
Aveary,  unsatisfied  heart  to  St.  Yuste.  The 
brilliant  pageant  was  over*  but  Protestantism 
was  expanding. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

The  conversion  of  Henry  VHL,  because  the 
pope  refused  to  annul  his  marriage  with  Cath- 
arine, aunt  of  Charles  V.,  was  not  the  proud- 
est, but  one  of  the  most  important  triumphs  of 
the  new  faith.  Had  Catharine's  charms  been 
fresher,  or  Anne  Boleyn  less  alluring,  the 
course  of  history  would  have  been  changed. 
Henry  VHI.,  as  persecutor  of  heretics,  would 
have  found  congenial  occupation  for  his  fero- 
cious instincts,  and  the  triumph  of  Protestant- 
ism would  have  been  long  delayed.  But  no 
such  cause  existed  for  the  success  of  the  Refor- 
mation on  French  soil.  The  slumbering  germs 
of  heresy,  left  perhaps  by  Abelard,  or  by  the 
heretics  in  Toulouse  and  Provence,  were 
quickly  warmed  into  life.  It  may  be  also  that 
the  memory  of  her  desertion  by  the  Church, 
once  her  only  friend  and  champion,  gave  such 
intensity  to  the  welcome  of  a  "  Reformation  " 
by  the  people.  At  all  events,  whatever  the  ex- 
planation, a  religious  war  was  at  hand  which 
"3 


114         A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

was.  going  to  stain  the  fair  name  of  France 
more  even  than  tlie  treacheries  of  her  civil  war. 
The  question  at  issue  was  deeper  than  any 
one  knew.  Neither  Luther  nor  Leo  X.  under- 
stood the  revolution  they  had  precipitated. 
Protestants  and  Papists  alike  failed  to  compre- 
hend the  true  nature  of  the  struggle,  which  was 
not  for  supremacy  of  Romanist  or  Protestant; 
not  whether  this  dogma  or  that  was  true,  and 
should  prevail;  but  an  assertion  of  the  right, of 
every  human  soul  to  choose  its  own  faith  and 
form  of  worship.  The  great  battle  for  human 
liberty  had  commenced;  the  struggle  for  relig- 
ious liberty  was  but  the  prelude  to  what  was  to 
follow.  There  was  abundant  proof  later  that 
Protestants  no  less  than  Papists  needed  only 
opportunity  and  power  to  be  as  cruel  and  in- 
tolerant as  their  persecutors  had  been.  Before 
the  Reformation  was  fifty  years  old,  Servetus, 
one  of  the  greatest  men  of  his  age,  a  scholar, 
philosopher,  and  man  of  irreproachable  char- 
acter, was  burned  at  Geneva  for  heretical  views 
concerning  the  nature  of  the  Trinity;  Calvin, 
the  great  organizer  of  Protestant  theology,  giv- 
ing, if  not  the  order  for  this  odious  crime,  at 
least  the  nod  of  approval  for  its  commission. 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         115 

France  had  known  many  tragedies.  But 
when  Francis,  in  pursuance  of  his  Itahan  poHcy, 
secured  the  hand  of  Catharine  de'  Medici  for 
his  son  and  heir,  Henry  IL,  he  prepared  the 
way  for  the  most  tragic  event  in  her  history. 
Powerless  to  win  the  affection,  or  even  confi- 
dence, of  Henry  wliile  he  hved,  Catharine  re- 
mained imobserved;  but,  as  the  event  proved, 
not  unobservant.  Her  astute  mind  had  been 
studying  every  current  in  the  kingdom. 

Two  families  had  come  into  prominence  dur- 
ing this  reign  which  were  to  play  leading  parts 
in  the  immediate  future :  the  family  of  Guise,  of 
the  house  of  Lorraine,  represented  by  Francis, 
Duke  of  Guise ;  and  that  of  Chatillon,  of  which 
Admiral  Coligny  was  the  head,  both  of  whom 
Catharine  hated  and  had  marked  for  destruc- 
tion. 

Mary,  of  the  house  of  Guise,  was  the  wife 
of  James  VI.  of  Scotland;  and  through  the 
powerful  influence  of  the  Guises,  the  brothers 
of  the  Scottish  queen,  a  marriage  was  arranged 
between  her  daughter — her  most  serene  little 
highness,  Marie  Stuart — and  the  dauphin,  who 
would  some  day  be  Francis  II. 

In  order  to  be  prepared  for  this  high  des- 


Il6         A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

tiny,  the  little  maid  when  only  five  years  old 
was  brought  to  the  Court  of  France  to  be 
trained  under  the  direct  influence  of  the  accom- 
plished queen-mother,  Catharine — undoubtedly, 
although  unsuspected  then,  the  worst  woman  in 
Europe !  Poor  little  Marie  Stuart,  predestined 
to  sin  and  to  tragedy !  What  could  be  expected 
of  a  woman  with  the  blood  of  the  Guises  in  her 
veins,  and  with  Catharine  de'  Medici  as  her 
model  and  teacher? 

In  1559  Henry  II.  was  killed  by  an  accident 
at  a  tournament.  The  marriage  of  the  two 
children  had  taken  place.  The  sickly  boy,  with 
only  a  modest  portion  of  intelligence,  was  Fran- 
cis II.,  King  of  France.  Marie,  his  beautiful 
and  adored  queen,  controlled  him  utterly,  and 
was  herself  in  turn  controlled  by  her  uncles  of 
the  house  of  Guise.  In  fact,  the  family  of 
Guise,  which  was  the  head  of  the  Catholic  party 
in  the  kingdom,  ruled  France,  with  the  strange 
result  that  if  Catharine  looked  for  any  allies  in 
her  fight  with  this  ambitious  family,  she  must 
make  common  cause  with  the  Protestants,  led 
by  Admiral  Coligny,  whom  she  hated  only  a 
little  less  than  the  uncles  of  Marie  Stuart. 

The  princes  of  the  house  of  Bourbon,  a  re- 


A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.         117 

mote  branch  of  the  royal  family,  which,  next 
to  Francis,  were  the  nearest  to  the  throne,  had 
been  extremely  jealous  of  the  growing  power  of 
the  Guises.  Now  they  saw  them,  as  the  ad- 
visers of  the  young  king,  actually  usurping  the 
position  which  was  theirs  by  right  of  birth. 

Tw^o  factions  grew  out  of  this  feud  in  the 
court,  and  there  developed  a  Bourbon  party, 
and  the  party  of  the  Guises ;  one  identified  with 
the  Protestant  and  the  other  with  the  Catholic 
cause. 

Antony  de  Bourbon,  the  head  of  the  family 
of  this  name,  whether  from  conviction  or  from 
antagonism  to  the  Guises,  had  openly  espoused 
the  Protestant  side.  It  was  the  rich  burghers 
of  the  towns,  in  combination  with  the  smaller 
nobles,  which  composed  the  Protestant  party  in 
France.  And  although  the  impelling  cause  of 
the  great  movement  was  religious,  political 
wrongs  had  become  a  powerful  contributing 
cause;  as  is  always  the  case,  the  discontented 
and  aggrieved,  for  whatever  reason,  casting  in 
their  lot  with  those  who  had  a  deeper  grievance 
and  a  more  sacred  purpose. 

Whether  the  conversion  of  the  Bourbon 
prince  was  of  that  nature  or  not,  who  can  say  ? 


Il8         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

But  the  movement  swelled,  and  France  was 
divided  into  two  hostile  camps :  one  under 
the  Protestant  banner  of  Antony  de  Bourbon, 
father  of  Henry  of  Navarre,  and  the  other 
under  that  of  the  Catholic,  Francis,  Duke  of 
Guise ;  and  two  children  were  on  the  throne  of 
France  while  the  ground  was  trembling  beneath 
their  feet  with  a  coming  revolution. 

Francis  I.  had  been  too  much  occupied  with 
his  own  plans  to  take  in  hand  systematically 
and  seriously  the  prevailing  heresy.  Henry 
n.,  son  of  Francis,  had  also  temporized  with 
the  religious  revolt,  probably  not  realizing  the 
powerful  element  it  contained.  Now,  with  the 
Guises  firmly  in  power,  there  would  be  no  more 
half-way  measures. 

But  a  crisis  was  at  hand  which  would  change 
the  whole  situation.  The  discovery  of  a  plot 
to  seize  the  person  of  the  young  king  and  place 
a  Bourbon  prince  upon  the  throne,  led  to  a  gen- 
eral slaughter.  Fresh  relays  of  executioners 
in  Paris  stood  ready  to  relieve  each  other  when 
exhausted,  and  the  Seine  was  black  with  the 
bodies  of  the  drowned. 

During  this  preliminary  storm  the  frail 
young  king,  Francis  IL,  suddenly  died.    Marie 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         119 

Stuart  passed  out  of  French  history,  and  the 
power  of  the  Guises  was  at  an  end.  The 
fates  were  certainly  fighting  on  the  side  of 
Catharine. 

There  are  hints  that  the  fine  Itahan  hand 
may  be  seen  in  this  event  which  at  one  stroke 
removed  every  obstacle  from  her  path  !  How- 
ever this  may  be,  Catharine  wasted  no  re- 
grets upon  the  death  of  a  son  which  made  her 
queen  regent  during  the  minority  of  her  sec- 
ond son,  Charles,  now  ten  years  of  age  (1560). 

Tliere  was  no  time  to  lose.  Her  control  over 
the  feeble  Charles  IX.  before  he  reached  his 
majority  must  be  absolute.  Every  impulse 
toward  mercy  must  be  extinguished. 

What  can  be  said  of  a  mother  who  seeks  to 
exterminate  every  germ  of  truth  or  virtue  in 
her  son ;  who  immerses  him  in  degrading  vices 
in  order  to  deaden  his  too  sensitive  conscience 
and  make  him  a  willing  tool  for  her  pur- 
poses? Inheriting  the  splendid  intelligence  as 
well  as  genius  for  statecraft  of  the  Medici, 
nourished  from  her  infancy  upon  Machiavel- 
lian principles,  cold  and  cruel  by  nature,  this 
Florentine  woman  has  written  her  name  in 
blood  across  the  pages  of  French  history. 


120         A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

There  were  two  main  ends  to  be  kept  in 
view :  the  destruction  of  the  Guises,  and  the 
extermination  of  the  Huguenots,  as  the  Protes- 
tants were  now  called.  These  were  difficult  to 
reconcile,  but  both  must  be  accomplished. 

Coligny,  the  splendid  old  admiral  and  Hu- 
guenot, hero  of  the  nation,  he,  too,  must  go. 
And  Henry  of  Navarre,  the  adored  young 
leader  of  the  Huguenots,  of  course  was  high 
on  the  list  marked  for  destruction;  but  there 
might  be  other  uses  for  him  before  that  time. 

Never  had  the  Huguenots  received  such  gen- 
tle treatment.  Disabilities  were  removed  and 
privileges  bestowed.  Never  was  the  beautiful 
queen-mother  as  smiling,  gracious,  and  witty. 
A  letter  to  her  uncle,  Pope  Innocent  HI.,  writ- 
ten, it  is  said,  between  a  dinner  and  a  mas- 
querade, asked  if  men  might  not  be  good 
enough  Christians  even  if  they  did  not  believe 
in  transubstantiation,  and  useful  subjects  even 
though  they  could  not  accept  the  Apostolic 
succession ! 

Then  this  excellent  woman  declared  her  ad- 
miration for  the  intelligence  of  the  Huguenots, 
whom  until  now  she  had  believed  were  mere 
fanatical    enthusiasts.     Then    Henry   of   Na- 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         1 21 

varre,  the  brave,  generous,  accomplished  Prot- 
estant leader,  was  urgently  invited  to  the  court, 
and  finally  even  offered  the  hand  of  Mar- 
garet of  Valois,  her  daughter,  as  a  compro- 
mise which  would  heal  the  rivalry  between 
the  two  faiths. 

And  so,  on  the  i8th  of  August,  1572,  Notre 
Dame,  grim  but  splendid,  looked  down  upon 
the  marriage  of  Margaret  and  Henry,  in  the 
presence  of  all  the  leaders  of  Huguenot  and 
Catholic  in  France. 

The  Protestants  wept  for  joy  at  the  recon- 
ciliation accomplished  by  this  union.  And  all 
were  to  remain  and  partake  of  the  week  of  fes- 
tivities which  were  to  follow. 

Then,  the  pageant  over,  a  secret  council  was 
held  in  Catharine's  apartment  in  the  Louvre,  in 
which  her  remaining  son,  Henry,  participated, 
but  from  which  his  brother  the  king  was  ex- 
cluded; some  wishing  to  include  the  Guises  in 
the  approaching  massacre,  some  urging  that 
Henry  of  Navarre  be  spared,  but  all  agree- 
ing that  Coligny  must  go;  it  being,  in  fact, 
the  influence  of  this  magnetic  man  over  the 
young  king  which  was  the  danger-point  com- 
pelling haste  and  the  uncertainty  as  to  what 


122         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

her  son  might  do  endangered  the  success  of 
the  whole  plot. 

Charles,  who  was  now  king,  was  impressible, 
easily  influenced,  yet  stubborn,  intractable,  in- 
coherent, passionate,  and  unreliable;  some- 
times inclining  to  the  Guises,  sometimes  to 
Coligny  and  the  Huguenots,  and  always  sub- 
mitting at  last,  after  vain  struggle,  to  his  im- 
perious mother's  will,  in  her  efforts  to  free  him 
from  both.  We  see  in  him  a  weak  character, 
not  naturally  bad,  torn  to  distraction  by  the 
cruel  forces  about  him,  who  when  compelled  to 
yield,  as  he  always  did  in  the  end,  to  that  ter- 
rible woman,  would  give  way  to  fits  of  impotent 
rage  against  the  fate  which  allowed  him  no 
peace. 

The  time  had  arrived  when  Catharine  feared 
the  influence  of  Coligny  more  than  that  of  the 
Guises.  Brave,  patriotic,  magnetic,  he  had 
succeeded  in  winning  Charles's  consent  to  de- 
clare war  against  Spain,  Philip  II.  of  Spain 
was  Catharine's  son-in-law  and  closest  ally. 
Her  entire  policy  was  threatened.  At  all  haz- 
ards Coligny  must  be  gotten  rid  of.  The 
young  King  of  Navarre,  adored  leader  of  the 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         123 

Protestants,  was  a  constant  menace;  he,  too, 
must  in  some  way  be  disposed  of. 

There  were  sinister  conferences  with  Phihp 
of  Spain  and  with  his  minister,  that  incarna- 
tion of  cruelty  and  of  the  Inquisition,  the  Duke 
of  Alva. 

To  the  honor  of  France  it  may  be  said  that 
the  initiative,  the  inception  of  the  horrid  deed 
which  was  preparing  was  not  French.  It  was 
conceived  in  the  brain  of  either  this  Italian 
woman  or  her  Spanish  adviser  and  co-con- 
spirator, the  Duke  of  Alva.  We  shall  never 
know  the  inside  history  of  the  Massacre  of  St. 
Bartholomew.  It  must  ever  remain  a  matter 
of  conjecture  just  how  and  when  it  was  planned, 
but  the  probabilities  point  strongly  one  way. 

Charles  was  to  be  gradually  prepared  for  it 
by  his  mother.  By  working  upon  his  fears, 
his  suspicions,  by  stories  of  plottings  against 
his  life  and  his  kingdom,  she  was  to  infuriate 
him ;  and  then,  while  his  rage  was  at  its  height, 
the  opportunity  for  action  must  be  at  hand. 
The  marriage  of  Charles's  sister  Margaret  with 
the  young  Protestant  leader  Henry  of  Navarre, 
with  its  promise  of  future  protection  to  the  Hu- 
guenots, was  part  of  the  plot.     It  would  lure 


124         A    SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

all  the  leaders  of  the  cause  to  Paris.  Coligny, 
Conde,  all  the  heads  of  the  party,  were  urgently 
invited  to  attend  the  marriage  feast  which  was 
to  inaugurate  an  era  of  peace. 

Admiral  Coligny  was  requested  by  Catha- 
rine, simply  as  a  measure  of  protection  to  the 
Protestants,  to  have  an  additional  regiment  of 
guards  in  Paris,  to  act  in  case  of  any  unfore- 
seen violence. 

Two  days  after  the  marriage,  and  while  the 
festivities  were  at  their  height,  an  attempt  upon 
the  life  of  the  old  admiral  awoke  suspicion  and 
alarm.  But  Catharine  and  her  son  went  im- 
mediately in  person  to  see  the  wounded  old  man, 
and  to  express  their  grief  and  horror  at  the 
event.  They  commanded  that  a  careful  list  of 
the  names  and  abode  of  every  Protestant  in 
Paris  be  made,  in  order,  as  they  said,  "  to  take 
them  under  their  own  immediate  protection." 
"  My  dear  father,"  said  the  king,  "  the  hurt  is 
yours,  the  grief  is  mine." 

At  that  moment  the  knives  were  already 
sharpened,  every  man  instructed  in  his  part  in 
the  hideous  drama,  and  the  signal  for  its  com- 
mencement determined  upon.  Charles  did  not 
know  it,  but  his  mother  did.     She  went  to  her 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         125 

son's  room  that  night,  artfully  and  eloquently 
pictured  the  danger  he  was  in,  confessed  to  him 
that  she  had  authorized  the  attempt  upon  Co- 
ligny,  but  that  it  was  done  because  of  the  ad- 
miral's plottings  against  him,  which  she  had 
discovered.  But  the  Guises — her  enemies  and 
his — they  knew  it,  and  would  denounce  her  and 
the  king !  The  only  thing  now  is  to  finish  the 
work.     He  must  die. 

Charles  was  in  frightful  agitation  and  stub- 
bornly refused.  Finally,  with  an  air  of  of- 
fended dignity,  she  bowed  coldly  and  said  to  her 
son,  "  Sir,  will  you  permit  me  to  withdraw  with 
my  daughter  from  your  kingdom  ? "  The 
wretched  Charles  was  conquered.  In  a  sort  of 
insane  fury  he  exclaimed,  "  Well,  let  them  kill 
him,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  Huguenots  too. 
See  that  not  one  remains  to  reproach  me." 

This  was  more  than  she  had  hoped.  All  was 
easy  now.  So  eager  was  she  to  give  the  order 
before  a  change  of  mood,  that  she  flew  herself 
to  give  the  signal,  fully  two  hours  earlier  than 
was  expected.  At  midnight  the  tocsin  rang  out 
upon  the  night,  and  the  horror  began. 

Lulled  to  a  feeling  of  security  by  artfully  con- 
trived  circumstances,    husbands,   wives,    sons. 


126         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

daughters,  peacefully  sleeping,  were  awakened 
to  see  each  other  hideously  slaughtered. 

The  stars  have  looked  down  upon  some  ter- 
rible scenes  in  Paris;  her  stones  are  not  unac- 
quainted with  the  taste  of  human  blood;  but 
never  had  there  been  anything  like  this.  The 
carnage  of  battle  is  merciful  compared  with  it. 
Shrieking  women  and  children,  half-clothed, 
fleeing  from  knives  already  dripping  with 
human  blood;  frantic  mothers  shielding  the 
bodies  of  their  children,  and  wives  pleading  for 
the  lives  of  husbands ;  the  living  hiding  beneath 
the  bodies  of  the  dead. 

The  cry  that  ascended  to  Heaven  from  Paris 
that  night  was  the  most  awful  and  despairing 
in  the  world's  history.  It  was  centuries  of 
cruelty  crowded  into  a  few  hours. 

The  number  slain  can  never  be  accurately 
stated,  but  it  was  thousands.  Human  blood 
is  intoxicating.  An  orgy  set  in  which  laughed 
at  orders  to  cease.  Seven  days  it  continued, 
and  then  died  out  for  lack  of  material.  The 
provinces  had  caught  the  contagion,  and  orders 
to  slay  were  received  and  obeyed  in  all  except 
two,  the  Governor  of  Bayonne,  to  his  honor  be 
it  told,  writing  to  the  king  in  reply :  "  Your 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         12/ 

Majesty  has  many  faithful  subjects  in  Bayonne, 
but  not  one  executioner." 

And  where  was  "  his  Majesty  "  while  this 
work  was  being  done  ?  How  was  it  with  Cath- 
arine ?  We  hear  of  no  regrets,  no  misgivings ; 
that  she  was  calm,  collected,  suave,  and  unfath- 
omable as  ever ;  but  that  Charles,  in  a  strange, 
half-frenzied  state,  was  amusing  himself  by 
firing  from  the  windows  of  the  palace  at  the 
fleeing  Huguenots.  Had  he  killed  himself  in 
remorse,  would  it  not  have  been  better,  instead 
of  lingering  two  wretched  years,  a  prey  to 
mental  tortures  and  an  inscrutable  malady,  be- 
fore he  died  ? 

Europe  was  shocked.  Christendom  averted 
her  face  in  horror.  But  at  Madrid  and  Rome 
there  was  satisfaction. 

Catharine  and  the  Duke  of  Alva  had  done 
their  work  skilfully,  but  the  result  surprised 
and  disappointed  them.  Tens  of  thousands  of 
Huguenots  were  slain,  which  was  well;  but 
many  times  that  number  remained,  with  spirit 
unbroken,  which  was  not  well. 

They  had  been  too  merciful!  Why  had 
Henry  of  Navarre  been  spared  ?  Had  not  Alva 
said,  "  Take  the  big  fish,  and  let  the  small  fry 


128         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

go.  One  salmon  is  worth  more  than  a  thou- 
sand frogs." 

But  Charles  considered  the  matter  settled 
when  he  uttered  those  swelling  words  to  Henry 
of  Navarre  the  day  after  the  massacre :  "  I 
mean  in  future  to  have  one  religion  in  my  king- 
dom.   It  is  the  Mass  or  death." 

All  the  events  leading  up  to  that  fateful 
night,  August  24,  1572,  may  never  be  known. 
Near  the  Church  of  St.  Germain  d'Auxerrois, 
which  rang  out  the  signal  and  was  mute  wit- 
ness of  the  horror,  has  just  been  erected  the 
statue  of  the  great  Coligny,  bearing  the  above 
date. 

The  miserable  Charles  was  not  quite  base 
enough  for  the  part  he  had  played.  Tormented 
with  memories,  haggard  with  remorse,  he  felt 
that  he  was  dying.  His  suspicious  eyes  turned 
upon  his  mother,  well  versed  in  poisons,  as  he 
knew;  and,  as  he  also  knew,  capable  of  any- 
thing. Was  this  wasting  away  the  result  of 
a  drug?  Mind  and  body  gave  way  under  the 
strain.  In  1574,  less  than  two  years  from  the 
hideous  event,  Charles  IX.  was  dead. 

Catharine's  third  son  now  wore  the  crown  of 
France.     In  Henry  III.  she  had  as  pliant  an 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         129 

instrument  for  her  will  as  in  the  two  brothers 
preceding  him;  and,  like  them,  his  reign  was 
spent  in  alternating  conflict  with  the  Protes- 
tants and  the  Duke  of  Guise.  At  last,  wearied 
and  exasperated,  this  half-Italian  and  altogether 
conscienceless  king  quite  naturally  thought  of 
the  stiletto.  The  old  duke,  as  he  entered  the 
king's  apartment  by  invitation,  was  stricken 
down  by  assassins  hidden  for  that  purpose. 

Henry  had  not  counted  on  the  rebound  from 
that  blow.  Catholic  France  was  excited  to 
such  popular  fury  against  him  that  he  threw 
himself  into  the  arms  of  the  Protestants,  im- 
ploring their  aid  in  keeping  his  crown  and  his 
kingdom;  and  when  himself  assassinated,  a 
year  later,  the  Valois  line  had  become  extinct. 

By  the  Salic  Law,  Henry  of  Navarre  was 
King  of  France.  The  Bourbon  branch  had 
left  the  parent  stem  as  long  ago  as  the  reign 
of  Louis  the  Saint.  But  as  all  the  other  Cape- 
tian  branches  had  disappeared,  the  right  of  the 
plumed  knight  to  the  crown  was  beyond  a  ques- 
tion. So  a  Protestant  and  a  Huguenot  was 
King  of  France. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

After  long  wandering  in  strange  seas,  we 
come  in  view  of  familiar  lights  and  headlands. 
With  the  advent  of  the  house  of  Bourbon,  we 
have  grasped  a  thread  which  leads  directly 
down  to  our  own  time. 

The  accession  of  a  Protestant  king  was 
hailed  with  delirious  joy  by  the  Huguenots,  and 
with  corresponding  rage  by  Catholic  France. 
The  one  looked  forward  to  redressing  of 
wrongs  and  avenging  of  injuries;  and  the  other 
flatly  refused  submission  unless  Henry  should 
recant  his  heresy  and  become  a  convert  to  the 
true  faith. 

The  new  king  saw  there  was  no  bed  of  roses 
preparing  for  him.  After  four  years  of  effort 
to  reconcile  the  irreconcilable,  he  decided  upon 
his  course.  He  was  not  called  to  the  throne  to 
rule  over  Protestant  France,  nor  to  be  an  in- 
strument of  vengeance  for  the  Huguenots. 
130 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         131 

He  saw  that  the  highest  good  of  the  kingdom 
required  not  that  he  should  impose  upon  it 
either  form  of  belief  or  worship,  but  give  equal 
opportunity  and  privilege  to  both. 

To  the  consternation  of  the  Huguenots,  he 
announced  himself  ready  to  listen  to  the  argu- 
ments in  favor  of  the  religion  of  Rome;  and 
it  took  just  five  hours  of  deliberation  to  con- 
vince him  of  its  truth.  He  declared  him- 
self ready  to  abjure  his  old  faith.  Bitter  re- 
proaches on  the  one  side  and  rejoicings  on  the 
other  greeted  this  decision.  It  was  not  heroic. 
But  many  even  among  the  Protestants  ac- 
knowledged it  to  be  an  act  of  supreme  political 
wisdom. 

Peace  was  restored,  and  the  Edict  of  Nantes, 
which  quickly  followed,  proved  to  his  old 
friends,  the  Huguenots,  that  they  were  not 
forgotten.  The  Protestants,  with  disabilities 
removed,  shared  equal  privileges  with  the 
Catholics  throughout  the  kingdom,  and  the  first 
victory  for  religious  liberty  was  splendidly  won. 

An  era  of  unexampled  prosperity  dawned. 
Never  had  the  kingdom  been  so  wisely  and 
beneficently  governed.  Sincerity,  simplicity, 
and  sympathy  had  taken  the  place  of  dissimu- 


132  A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

lation,  craft,  and  cruelty.  Uplifting  agencies 
were  ever}'\vhere  at  work,  reaching  even  to  the 
peasantry,  that  forgotten  element  in  the  nation. 

The  formal  abjuration  of  the  Protestant  faith 
was  made  by  the  King  in  the  Church  of  St. 
Denis  in  1593.  This  church  also  witnessed 
the  marriage  of  Henry  with  Marie  de'  Medici, 
after  his  release  from  her  debased  relative, 
Margaret  of  Valois,  daughter  of  Catharine  de' 
Medici.  Henry  IV.,  great  although  he  was, 
was  not  above  the  ordinary  weaknesses  of  hu- 
manity, and,  captivated  by  the  beauty  of  Marie, 
was  a  willing  party  to  the  Italian  marriage 
which  was  urged  upon  him,  which  marriage 
was  the  one  mistake  of  a  great  reign. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  any  minister 
would  rise  to  the  full  stature  of  Henry  IV.  at 
this  time.  But  in  the  Duke  of  Sully  he  had  a 
wise  and  efficient  instrument  for  his  plan,  which 
was  out  of  the  chaos  left  by  the  devastation  of 
thirty  years  of  religious  wars,  to  evolve  peace 
and  prosperity;  and  to  create  economic  condi- 
tions upon  a  foundation  insuring  growth  and 
permanence. 

The  royal  authority,  impaired  by  the  succes- 
sors of  Francis,  must  first  be  restored.     And  to 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         133 

that  end  all  political  elements,  including  the 
States  General,  must  be  held  firmly  down ;  and 
that  body,  representing  the  Tiers  Etat,  was 
never  summoned  after  France  was  well  in  hand 
by  the  king  who  was  par  excellence  the  friend 
of  the  people! 

It  is  the  Edict  of  Nantes  which  stands  pre- 
eminent among  the  events  of  this  reign,  and 
which  is  Henry's  monument  in  the  annals  of 
France.  His  foreign  policy  was  controlled 
by  a  desire  to  check  the  preponderance  of  the 
Hapsburgs;  that  being,  in  fact,  the  dominant 
sentiment  in  Europe  at  that  time.  But  a  re- 
markable proof  of  the  breadth  of  his  treatment 
of  this  subject  is  the  plan  he  formulated  of  a 
European  tribunal  composed  of  the  five  great 
powers,  which  should  insist  upon  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  balance  of  pozver — a  phrase  com- 
mon enough  now,  but  heard  then  for  the  first 
time ;  and  which  had  for  its  immediate  purpose 
the  separating  of  the  crown  of  Spain  and  the 
empire,  by  forbidding  their  being  held  by  mem- 
bers of  the  same  family,  and  of  course  designed 
as  a  check  upon  the  Hapsburgs. 

This  was  a  pet  theory  with  Henry,  and  the 
subject  of  much  discussion  with  Sully  and  of 


134         A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

negotiation  with  Elizabeth,  Queen  of  England, 
at  the  very  time  when  Philip  11,  of  Spain,  in 
pursuance  of  a  precisely  opposite  policy,  had 
been  moving  heaven  and  earth  to  bring  about 
a  marriage  with  that  extraordinary  sister  of 
his  dead  wife  Mary.  Henry  did  not  witness 
the  realization  of  his  dream.  But  time  has  jus- 
tified its  wisdom,  and  modern  statesmanship 
has  been  able  to  devise  no  wiser  plan  than  that 
conceived  in  the  mind  of  this  enlightened  king 
nearly  three  centuries  ago. 

How  much  France  lost  by  Ravaillac's  dag- 
ger can  only  be  surmised,  and  when  Henry, 
fatally  stricken  (1610),  was  carried  dying  into 
the  Louvre,  a  cry  of  grief  arose  from  Catholic 
and  Protestant  alike  throughout  the  kingdom. 
After  a  reign  of  twenty-one  years,  the  saga- 
cious ruler,  who  had  done  more  than  any  other 
to  make  the  country  great  and  happy,  was  the 
victim  of  assassination.  And  France  once  more 
was  the  sport  of  a  cruel  fate  which  placed  her  in 
the  hands  of  a  woman  and  a  Medici.  Marie, 
the  widow  of  Henry  IV.,  was  appointed  regent 
during  the  minority  of  her  son  Louis  aged  ten 
years. 

The  regency  of  this  woman  is  a  story  of 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         135 

cabals  and  the  intrigues  of  aspiring  favorites. 
If  Marie  had  not  the  abihty  of  her  great  kins- 
woman Catharine,  it  must  be  confessed  neither 
had  she  her  darker  vices.  She  was  simply  in- 
triguing and  vulgar,  and  the  willing  instrument 
for  designing  people  cleverer  than  herself.  So 
powerful  was  the  influence  of  Eleonora  Galigai 
and  her  husband,  Concini,  both  Italians  like 
herself,  that  in  that  superstitious  age  it  was  as- 
cribed to  magic.  Marie  became  the  mere  sec- 
retary to  record  the  wishes  of  these  parasites. 
Concini  was  made  marquis,  then  minister. 
Whom  he  commended  was  elevated,  and  whom 
he  denounced  was  abased.  Public  indignation 
reached  its  climax  when  this  adventurer  was 
finally  created  Marshal  of  France,  before  whom 
counts  and  dukes  must  bow.  So  furious  was 
the  storm  raised  by  this,  that  Marie  declared 
her  willingness  to  surrender  the  regency,  and 
after  summoning  the  States  General  she  pre- 
sented her  son,  Louis  XIIL,  thirteen  years  of 
age,  declaring  that  he  was  qualified  to  reign. 

Only  once  again  was  this  body  to  be  called 
together.  That  was  in  1789,  by  Louis  XVI., 
when  it  was  transformed  into  a  National  As- 
sembly. 


136         A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

But  when  it  was  discovered  that  the  power 
of  the  detested  pair  was  as  great  behind  the 
boy  king  as  it  had  been  behind  his  mother,  the 
storm  gathered  again  from  all  parts  of  the  king- 
dom. It  was  France  in  struggle  with  Concini, 
the  man  who  was  audaciously  sending  princes 
of  the  blood  and  dukes  to  the  Bastille. 

But  a  counter-influence  was  weaving  about 
Louis.  He  was  made  to  realize  the  indignity 
to  himself  in  letting  two  vulgar  Italians  usurp 
his  authority.  Thus  Albert  de  Luynes,  his 
adored  friend,  procured  his  signature  to  a  paper 
ordering  the  immediate  destruction  of  Concini 
and  his  wife.  And  when  Louis  had  seen  Con- 
cini despatched  by  his  own  agents  in  the  court 
of  the  Louvre,  and  the  arrest,  trial,  and  execu- 
tion of  Eleonora  (upon  the  charge  of  sorcery), 
he  completed  the  work  by  banishing  his  mother, 
only  f  J  fall  immediately  into  the  power  of  Al- 
bert de  Luynes,  himself  an  intriguing  parasite, 
who  intended  to  play  the  very  same  role  as  the 
pair  he  had  overthrown. 

The  clever  Eleonora,  when  arraigned  on  the 
charge  of  sorcery,  replied,  "  The  only  magic  I 
have  used  is  that  of  a  strong  mind  over  a  weak 
one."     Albert  de  Lujnes's  head  was  nerer  car- 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         137 

ried  about  Paris  on  a  pike,  as  was  hers.  But 
he  experimented  with  the  same  kind  of  magic. 

This  wretched  period  after  the  death  of  the 
great  Henry  had  occupied  twelve  years.  But 
in  1622  Cardinal  Richelieu  took  his  seat  among 
the  advisers  of  the  king.  The  true  man  had 
been  found.  King,  nobles,  people  of  all  ranks 
and  religions,  realized  that  a  master  had  ap- 
peared in  the  land ;  a  master  inscrutable  in  his 
purposes,  and  clothed  with  a  mysterious  power. 

The  foundations  of  this  man's  policy  lay 
deep,  out  of  sight  of  all  save  his  own  far- 
reaching  intelligence.  Pitiless  as  an  iceberg, 
he  crushed  every  obstacle  to  his  purpose.  Im- 
partial as  fate,  with  no  loves,  no  hatreds,  catho- 
lics, protestants,  nobles,  parliaments,  one  after 
another  were  borne  down  before  his  determina- 
tion to  make  the  king,  what  he  had  not  been 
since  Charlemagne,  supreme  in  France. 

The  will  of  the  great  minister  mowed  down 
like  a  scythe.  The  power  of  the  grandees,  that 
last  remnant  of  feudalism,  and  a  perpetual 
menace  to  monarchy,  was  swept  away.  One 
great  noble  after  another  was  humiliated  and 
shorn  of  his  privileges,  if  not  of  his  head. 

The  Huguenots,  being  first  shaken  into  sub- 


138         A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

mission,  saw  their  political  liberties  torn  from 
them  by  the  stroke  of  a  pen ;  and  even  while  the 
Catholics  were  making  merry  over  this  discom- 
fiture the  minister  was  planning  to  send  Hen- 
rietta, sister  of  the  king,  across  the  channel  to 
become  queen  of  Protestant  England,  as  wife 
of  Charles  I.  But  the  act  of  supreme  audacity 
was  to  come.  This  high  prelate  of  the  Church, 
this  cardinal-minister,  formed  an  alliance  with 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  the  great  leader  of  the 
Protestants  in  the  war  upon  the  emperor  and 
the  pope ! 

He  allowed  no  religion,  no  class,  to  sway  or 
to  hold  him.  He  was  for  France;  and  her 
greatness  and  glory  augmented  under  his  ruth- 
less dominion.  By  his  extraordinary  genius  he 
made  the  reign  of  a  commonplace  king  one  of 
dazzling  splendor;  and  while  gratifying  his 
own  colossal  ambition,  he  so  strengthened  the 
foundations  of  the  monarchy  that  princes  of  the 
blood  themselves  could  not  shake  it. 

It  was  great,  it  was  dazzling,  but  of  all  his 
work  there  is  but  one  thing  which  revolutions 
and  time  have  not  swept  away :  the  "  French 
Academy "  alone  survives  as  his  monument. 
Out  of  a  gathering  of  literary  friends  he  ere- 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         139 

ated  a  national  institution,  its  object  the  estab- 
lishing a  court  of  last  appeal  in  all  that  makes 
for  eloquence  in  speaking  or  writing  the  French 
language.  In  a  country  where  few  things  en- 
dure, this  has  remained  unchanged  for  two 
hundred  and  thirty  years. 

But  this  master  of  statecraft,  this  creator  of 
despotic  monarchy,  had  one  unsatisfied  ambi- 
tion. He  would  have  exchanged  all  his  honors 
for  the  ability  to  write  one  play  like  those  of 
Corneille.  Hungering  for  literary  distinction, 
he  could  not  have  gotten  into  his  own  Academy 
had  he  not  created  it.  And  jealous  of  his 
laurels,  he  hated  Corneille  as  much  as  he  did 
the  enemies  of  France. 

The  feeble  King  Louis  XHI.  manifested 
wisdom  in  at  least  one  thing.  He  permitted 
this  greatest  statesman  of  his  time,  and  one  of 
the  greatest  perhaps  of  all  time,  to  have  a  free 
hand  in  managing  his  kingdom.  And  what- 
ever the  pressure  from  the  queen-mother,  from 
cabals  and  intriguing  nobles,  he  never  yielded 
the  point,  but  kept  his  great  minister  in  his  ser- 
vice as  long  as  they  both  lived.  This  was  espe- 
cially commendable  in  Louis  because  they  were 
personally  antagonistic,   and  also  because  the 


I40         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

queen-mother  constantly  used  her  powerful  in- 
fluence over  her  son  for  his  downfall. 

Marie  had  been  permitted  to  return  to  Paris, 
where  her  son,  perhaps  to  console  her  for  the 
loss  of  the  Concinis,  had  built  for  her  the 
Palais  de  Luxembourg,  intended  as  a  remi- 
niscence of  her  dear  Italy,  with  its  Medicean  ar- 
chitecture and  Italian  gardens  and  fountains. 
Here  she  held  her  little  court  in  great  splendor, 
and  here  she  wove  her  ineffectual  webs  for 
Richelieu's  defeat  and  downfall.  It  is  said  that 
at  one  time  Louis  at  her  instigation  had  ac- 
tually taken  the  pen  in  hand  to  sign  the  order 
for  his  minister's  disgrace,  when  that  vigilant 
and  omniscient  being,  perfectly  aware  of  what 
was  occurring,  appeared  from  behind  the  cur- 
tains. And  Louis,  quailing  before  the  superior 
will  of  a  master,  sent  his  vicious,  intriguing 
mother  into  perpetual  banishment.  And  we 
are  told  that  Marie,  the  subject  of  those  im- 
mortal canvases  now  at  the  Louvre,  was  ac- 
tually sheltered  and  fed  by  the  great  painter  at 
his  own  home  in  the  day  of  her  disgrace  and 
poverty. 

It  is  not  strange  that  Peter  the  Great  pro- 
nounced Richelieu  the  model  statesman !     Their 


A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.         141 

ideals  were  the  same.  The  minister  intended 
that  everything  in  France  should  He  helpless  at 
the  feet  of  royalty ;  that  kingship  should  absorb 
into  itself  every  source  of  power.  While  Crom- 
well was  tearing  down  a  throne  in  England  and 
leading  a  king  to  a  scaffold,  Richelieu,  facing 
every  class,  current,  and  force,  was  making  the 
throne  impregnable  in  France,  and  preparing 
a  magnificent  inheritance  for  the  infant  Louis 
XIV.,  then  in  his  cradle. 

Queen-mother,  nobles,  parliaments,  and 
Protestants  must  be  taught  to  obey.  The  Hu- 
guenots at  the  siege  of  La  Rochelle,  lasting 
fifteen  months,  learned  their  lesson.  The  pun- 
ishment for  their  revolt  was  the  loss  of  every 
military  and  political  privilege.  But  although 
there  were  to  be  no  more  political  assemblies, 
the  edict  of  Nantes  was  to  be  rigidly  enforced, 
and  their  rights  and  immunities  under  it  made 
inviolable.  Louis  the  King  saw  his  most  in- 
timate friend.  Cinq  Mars,  sent  to  the  scaffold ; 
his  brother  Gaston,  Duke  of  Orleans,  thrown 
into  the  Bastille  like  a  common  prisoner;  his 
mother  in  exile  and  poverty.  But  he  also  saw 
himself  without  the  trouble  of  governing,  sur- 
rounded by  homage  and  adulation,  towering 


142         A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

high  above  everything  else  in  France,  and  was 
content. 

The  growing  power  of  Austria  and  the  as- 
cendency of  the  Hapsburgs  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  nightmare  of  Europe  at  this  period. 
But  the  Reformation  was  tearing  the  empire 
almost  asunder.  A  Protestant  Prussia  was 
trying  to  struggle  away  from  a  Catholic  Aus- 
tria. Richelieu  cared  nothing  for  Catholics 
nor  for  Protestants.  His  aim  w^as  to  w^eaken 
the  hands  of  the  Hapsburgs.  And  if  he  joined 
the  Protestant  leader  Gustavus  Adolphus  in  a 
religious  crusade,  it  was  with  this  end  in  view. 

The  marriage  of  Louis  with  the  Infanta  of 
Spain,  known  as  Anne  of  Austria,  was  doubt- 
less a  part  of  the  same  line  of  policy,  and  was 
the  beginning  of  many  attempts  to  draw  the 
Spanish  peninsula  under  the  control  of  France. 

When  the  end  of  all  these  schemings  arrived, 
on  the  4th  day  of  December,  1642,  Richelieu 
calmly  laid  down  to  die  in  his  princely  resi- 
dence known  at  that  time  as  the  Palais  Car- 
dinal. But  as  it  was  his  dying  gift  to  the  king, 
the  name  was  changed  to  the  Palais  Royal. 
Upon  the  death  of  Louis  XHL,  which  occurred 
in  1643,  only  a  few  months  after  that  of  his 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         1 43 

minister,  the  widowed  Queen  Anne,  with  her 
infant  son,  Louis  XIV.,  removed  from  the 
Louvre  to  the  Palais  Royal,  which  continued 
to  be  the  residence  of  the  Grand  Monarch  for 
some  time  after  his  majority. 

Anne  was  appointed  regent  for  her  son,  not 
yet  five  years  old,  and,  to  the  surprise  of  every- 
one, immediately  called  to  her  aid  as  her  ad- 
viser not  a  Frenchman,  as  was  expected,  but 
an  Italian,  Cardinal  Mazarin.  So  the  fate  of 
the  kingdom  was  in  the  hands  of  two  foreign- 
ers, a  Spanish  queen-regent  and  an  Italian 
minister. 

Richelieu's  and  Mazarin's  methods  were  the 
opposite  of  each  other.  One  was  direct,  the 
other  tortuous  and  indirect.  In  true  Italian 
fashion  Mazarin  overcame  by  seeming  to  yield ; 
and  what  he  said  was  the  thing  he  did  not  mean. 
Intrigue  and  bribery  were  his  implements  and 
weapons. 

The  situation  awoke  distrust.  It  was  a  time 
to  recover  lost  privileges,  and  to  struggle  out  of 
the  chains  riveted  by  Richelieu.  A  civil  war 
known  as  the  Fronde  was  the  result. 

As  all  classes  had  grievances,  all  were  repre- 
sented in  this  general  undoing  of  the  last  min- 


144         A  SHORT  HISTORY  OP  FRANCE. 

ister's  great  work.  But  as  no  two  classes  de- 
sired the  same  thing,  the  miserable  war,  without 
genius  and  without  system,  miserably  failed. 
Tlie  royal  cause  triumphed;  and  Richelieu's 
political  structure  was  not  even  shaken.  Maz- 
arin  stood  inflexibly  by  the  work  of  his  great 
predecessor.  Turenne  and  Conde  were  the 
military  heroes  of  this,  as  well  as  of  the  subse- 
quent foreign  wars,  resulting  in  the  acquisition 
of  Alsace  (1648)  and  other  great  territorial 
expansion. 

When  Cardinal  Mazarin  died  in  1661,  the 
young  king  was  asked  to  whom  the  ministers 
should  bring  their  portfolios.  To  which  came 
the  unexpected  reply,  "  To  me." 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

The  wily  Italian  was  gone,  and  Louis  XIV. 
settled  himself  upon  the  throne  which  Riche- 
lieu had  rendered  so  exalted  and  immovable. 

Cardinal  Mazarin  had  said  of  the  young 
Louis  that  "  there  was  enough  in  him  to  make 
four  kings,  and  one  honest  man."  His  great- 
ness consisted  more  in  amplitude  than  in  kind. 
Nature  made  him  in  prodigal  mood.  He  was 
an  average  man  of  colossal  proportions.  His 
ability,  courage,  dignity,  industry,  greed  for 
power  and  possessions,  were  all  on  a  magnifi- 
cent scale,  and  so  were  his  vanity,  his  loves,  his 
cruelties,  his  pleasures,  his  triumphs,  and  his 
disappointments. 

No  king  more  wickedly  oppressed  France, 
and  none  made  her  more  glorious.  He  made 
her  feared  abroad  and  magnificent  at  home,  bui 
he  desolated  her,  and  drained  her  rc«ourcc» 
with  ambitious  wars.  He  crowned  k^  wi^ 
I4S 


146         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

imperishable  laurels  in  literature,  art,  and  every 
manifestation  of  genius,  but  he  signed  the 
Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  and  drove 
out  of  his  kingdom  500,000  of  the  best  of  his 
subjects. 

The  marriage  of  the  Dauphin  with  the  In- 
fanta of  Spain  had  occurred  before  he  attained 
his  majority.  It  was  planned  by  Mazarin,  and 
was  a  part  of  the  policy  left  as  a  fatal  bequest 
to  Louis  XIV.  by  that  minister. 

The  Salic  Law  was  not  recognized  in  Spain. 
Hence,  the  crown  might  descend  to  an  heiress, 
and  by  her  be  transmitted  to  her  husband. 
Such  was  the  hope  in  the  marriage  of  Louis 
with  the  Infanta ;  the  hope  of  some  happy  turn 
of  fortune,  some  break  in  the  line  of  succession 
whereby  the  Spanish  kingdom  might  be  ab- 
sorbed into  a  Bourbon  empire,  as  it  had  once 
been  in  the  empire  of  the  Hapsburgs.  This 
was  the  ignis  fatmis  which  was  to  control  the 
policy  of  this  stormy  reign,  and  which  was  to 
envelop  it  at  last  in  the  clouds  of  defeat  and 
disaster. 

The  secret  of  Louis'  greatness  was  his  in- 
stinctive recognition  of  greatness  in  others. 
His  new  minister,  Colbert,  to  whom  he  owed 


■  A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         I47 

SO  much,  was  a  man  of  the  people,  and  a  prot- 
estant.  He  it  was  who  discovered  the  pecula- 
tions of  Fouquet,  the  magnificent  Minister  of 
Finance,  who  was  building  a  palace  at  Vaux 
greater  than  the  king  himself  could  afford,  and 
who  was  suddenly  swept  from  this  princely 
residence  into  the  Bastille,  where  he  spent  the 
remaining  years  of  his  life  with  plenty  of  lei- 
sure in  which  to  think  upon  the  forty  thousand 
pounds  he  had  expended  upon  that  fete  he  gave 
in  honor  of  his  royal  master;  and  to  recall  the 
splendors  of  the  supper  and  the  size  of  the  ban- 
queting-hall,  which  Mansart,  Le  Brun,  and  the 
best  that  Italy  could  furnish  at  that  time  had 
made  beautiful. 

It  is  said  that  the  unfortunate  visit  of  the 
king  to  his  minister's  abode  resulted  in  the 
creation  of  Versailles  as  a  suburban  residence. 
From  the  Palais  de  St.  Germain,  on  the  heights 
in  the  suburbs  of  Paris,  Louis  could  see  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Denis,  where  were  the  royal 
vaults  and  the  ancestors  he  must  some  day  join. 
So  depressing  was  this  view  to  him,  and  so 
charmed  was  he  with  the  plan  of  Fouquet's  pal- 
ace and  gardens,  that  artists  were  immediately 
set  to  work  to  make  one  more  royal  at  Ver- 


148         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

sailles,  where  his  father,  Louis  XIII. ,  used  to 
have  his  hunting-box;  the  place  wherQ  that 
much-governed  king  used  to  go  to  hide  away 
from  his  scheming  mother  and  his  argus-eyed 
minister.  The  genius  of  Colbert  was  severely 
taxed  to  supply  the  means  for  Louis'  magnifi- 
cent tastes  and  for  his  foreign  wars,  at  the  same 
time.  Even  Colbert  could  not  create  money 
out  of  nothing.  The  burden  must  rest  some- 
where, and  just  as  surely  must  ultimately 
be  borne  by  the  people. 

The  choice  of  Louvois  as  Minister  of  War 
was  no  less  happy  than  that  of  Colbert  in 
Finance.  And  with  Vauban  to  build  his  de- 
fences, Turenne  and  Luxembourg  and  the  great 
Conde  to  lead  his  armies,  it  is  not  strange  that 
there  were  victories. 

The  four  great  wars  of  Louis'  reign  were 
not  for  theatrical  effect,  like  that  of  the  fanciful 
Charles  VIII.  in  Italy.  They  were  all  in  pur- 
suance of  a  serious  and  definite  purpose.  Just 
or  unjust,  wise  or  unwise,  they  were  planned 
in  order  to  reach  some  boundary,  or  to  secure 
some  strategic  position  essential  to  France. 
These  wars  were : 

First — The  war  upon  the  Spanish  Aether- 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         149 

lands,  ending  with  the  Treaty  of  Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle,  1668. 

Second — The  invasion  of  the  Dutch  Repub- 
Hc,  ending  with  the  peace  of  Nymwegen,  1678. 

Third — War  with  the  coahtion  of  European 
States,  closing  with  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick, 
1697. 

Fourth — War  of  the  Spanish  Succession, 
closed  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  171 3. 

The  first  of  these  wars,  undertaken  because 
Louis  believed  and  intended  that  Flanders 
should  belong  to  France,  to  which  it  was  geo- 
graphically allied,  was  ostensibly  undertaken  in 
order  to  recover  the  unpaid  dowry  which  had 
been  promised  by  Spain  in  exchange  for  Louis' 
renunciation  of  any  claim  upon  the  throne  of 
Spain  which  might  result  from  his  marriage 
with  the  Infanta  Maria  Theresa.  His  con- 
quest of  the  Spanish  possessions  in  Flanders 
might  have  been  supposed  to  set  at  rest  for- 
ever the  question  of  a  claim  upon  the  Span- 
ish throne.  But  we  shall  hear  of  that  again. 
The  success  of  this  war  made  Louis,  at  twenty- 
nine  years  of  age,  the  most  heroic  figure  in 
Europe.  Every  one  bowed  before  him,  and 
everything  seemed  to  be  gravitating  toward 


ISO         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

him  as  toward  a  central  sun.  Not  alone  nobil- 
ity, but  even  genius  put  on  his  livery  and 
became  sycophantish,  Bossuet  and  even  Mo- 
liere,  hungering  for  his  smile,  and  in  despair 
if  he  frow^ned. 

This  was  the  time  of  the  supremacy  of  the 
beautiful  Louise  la  Valliere.  Her  reign  was 
brief,  and,  the  king's  infatuation  being  passed, 
she  was  to  spend  the  rest  of  her  dreary  life  in 
a  Carmelite  convent,  hearing  only  the  far-off 
echoes  from  the  brilliant  world  in  which  she  was 
once  the  central  and  envied  figure. 

The  Dutch  Republic  had  come  under  Louis' 
displeasure  and  was  marked  for  his  next  for- 
eign campaign.  This  (to  his  mind)  insignif- 
icant nation  of  fishermen  and  small  traders 
had  presumed  to  stand  in  his  path.  So  the 
most  magnificent  army  since  the  Crusades  in 
1672  invaded  the  peaceful  little  state  of  Hol- 
land. As  one  after  another  of  the  cities  help- 
lessly fell,  someone  asked  why  Louis  came 
himself — why  he  did  not  send  his  valet? 
Louis  insolently  demanded  as  the  price  of 
peace  the  surrender  of  all  their  fortified  cities, 
the  payment  of  twenty  million  francs,  and  the 
renunciation  of  the  Protestant  faith. 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         151 

The  answer  of  William  of  Nassau  was  an 
unexpected  one.     The  history  of  modern  times 
has  nothing  more  heroic  than  this  httle  mer- 
cantile state  defying  the  greatest  potentate  in 
Europe.     William  of   Nassau  knew  perfectly 
well    that    every    battle    meant    defeat.     The 
thing  to  do  was  to  make  battles  impossible  by 
inundating  their  fertile  fields.     When  he  saw 
the  destruction  of  life  and  property  m  one  scale 
and  political  slavery  in  the  other,  he  did  not 
hesitate.     The    dikes    were    quietly     opened. 
Turenne  and  Luxembourg  and  Vauban  were 
bafHed  as  completely  as  Napoleon  in  Russia 
And  when  the  magnificent  army  had  evacuated 
the   flooded  country,   the   dikes   were   quietly 
closed  again  and  time  and  windmills  restored 
their  fields  to  fertility. 

In  the  meantime  William  had  been  drawing 
to  himself  powerful  allies.  Half  of  Europe 
was  in  league  with  him  in  the  battles  he  now 
fought  upon  the  Rhine.  But  the  French  were 
victorious.  And  after  the  peace  of  Nym- 
wegen,  1678,  Louis  had  reached  the  zenith  of 

his  power. 

Human  pretension  and  arrogance  could  go 
no  farther.     He  began  to  feel  that  France  was 


152         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

his  own  personal  possession  and  that  Europe 
might  be.  It  was  the  combination  of  a  great 
king  with  a  small  man  which  produced  this 
composite  being.  He  had  built  Versailles,  a 
palace  unmatched  since  the  Csesars.  He  not 
only  commanded  the  presence,  but  the  obse- 
quious presence  of  all  that  was  illustrious  and 
great  at  a  time  when  France  was  in  the  full 
flower  of  her  splendid  genius.  Corneille, 
Racine,  Moliere,  if  permitted  to  be,  must  pay 
him  an  almost  idolatrous  homage.  The  beau- 
tiful Valliere  was  sent  away,  and  de  Montes- 
pan's  reign  had  commenced. 

But  when  Colbert  died  in  1685,  Louis  fell 
under  an  influence  which  was  to  be  transform- 
ing. He  had  been  burning  the  illuminating  oil 
of  youth  at  very  high  pressure.  Perhaps  it  was 
exhausted.  He  grew  serious.  De  Montespan 
was  sent  away — the  orgies  at  Versailles  ceased, 
the  court  became  decorous,  almost  austere, 
and  with  the  awakening  of  conscience,  of 
course,  the  king  became  more  sensitive  to  the 
heresies  of  the  Huguenots ! 

He  was  drifting  toward  the  fatal  mistake  of 
his  life.  He  revoked  the  Edict  of  Nantes. 
Two  millions  of  people  by  the  stroke  of  his  pen, 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         153 

at  the  bidding  of  de  Maintenon,  were  disfran- 
chised; prohibited  under  severe  penalties  from 
any  observance  of  their  rehgion ;  their  property 
confiscated,  an  attempt  to  flee  from  the  country 
punished  by  the  galleys. 

The  prisons  were  full  of  Protestants  and  the 
scaflJ'olds  dyed  with  their  blood.  Two  hundred 
thousand  perished  by  imprisonment,  by  the  gal- 
leys, and  the  executioner;  while  two  hundred 
thousand  more  managed  to  escape  to  America 
and  to  the  lands  of  the  enemies  of  France,  which 
they  would  enrich  with  their  skill. 

Not  a  word  of  protest  came  from  a  person  in 
France.  Not  even  from  Fenelon  or  Bossuet! 
Madame  de  Maintenon  told  him  it  was  the 
"glorious  climax  of  a  glorious  reign."  Madame 
de  Sevigne  said  it  was  "  magnificent !  "  And 
Bossuet,  greatest  of  French  divines,  exclaimed, 
"  It  is  the  miracle  of  the  century!  " 

France  at  one  stroke  was  impoverished. 
The  skill,  the  trained  hand,  the  element  which 
was  at  the  foundation  of  her  excellence,  and  of 
that  which  was  to  constitute  her  future  suprem- 
acy in  the  world,  had  gone  to  enrich  her  ene- 
mies. And  whether  in  Germany,  in  England, 
or  America,  no  foreign  people  have  had  such 


154         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

glad  welcome  as  was  given  to  the  Hugue- 
nots. 

Then  came  the  rebound  in  a  form  not  ex- 
pected. WilHam  of  Orange  was  now  King  of 
England.  James  had  been  driven  off  his 
throne,  and  his  daughter  Mary  and  her  hus- 
band, William  of  Orange,  wore  the  double 
crown.  All  the  hostile  European  states,  under 
William's  leadership,  sprang  together  for  the 
common  defence  of  Europe  from  this  detested 
foe. 

The  smothered  hatred  of  Holland  and  every 
protestant  state  burst  into  flame,  and  the  great 
War  of  the  Coalition  commenced.  Beginning 
with  the  League  of  Augsburg,  in  1688,  it  con- 
tinued until  the  peace  of  Ryswick,  1697,  with 
the  defeat  of  France  all  along  the  line. 

Humiliated  and  broken,  there  remained  for 
the  king  an  opportunity  to  retrieve  the  past 
by  attaching  the  Spanish  peninsula  to  France. 
There  was  a  vacant  throne  at  Madrid  which  his 
grandson  Philip,  through  the  neglected  Queen 
Maria  Theresa,  might  claim  as  his  inheritance. 
Such  were  the  conditions  which  might  still 
change  defeat  into  triumph.  The  fact  that  the 
right  to  the  succession  had  been  waived  by  the 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  155 

king  was  easily  disposed  of.  Philip,  Louis' 
grandson,  presented  his  claim  in  competition 
with  that  of  the  son  of  Leopold  L,  Emperor  of 
Germany.  When  the  pope,  with  whom  the  de- 
cision lay,  decided  in  favor  of  Philip,  grand- 
son of  the  great  Louis,  all  Europe  sprang  to  the 
aid  of  the  Austrian  archduke  in  the  war  of  the 
Spanish  succession. 

It  was  a  little  side  play  in  the  opening  of  this 
great  drama,  which  brought  the  kingdom  of 
Prussia  into  existence.  Frederick,  elector  of 
Brandenburg,  when  called  upon  to  arm  by  the 
emperor,  refused  to  do  so  except  upon  one  con- 
dition :  that  he  might  wear  the  title  of  king 
instead  of  elector;  which  condition  was 
granted,  with  the  stipulation  that  the  name  of 
Prussia,  a  detached  piece  of  territory  the  an- 
cestors of  Frederick  had  cut  out  of  the  side  of 
Russia,  be  substituted  for  Brandenburg.  So 
out  of  this  war  of  personal  ambition  there  had 
sprung  a  new  kingdom,  the  kingdom  of  Prus- 
sia, of  which  France  was  to  hear  much  in  the 
future. 

England  was  not  eager  to  join  the  new  coali- 
tion in  defence  of  the  Hapsburg,  whom  in  com- 
mon with  the  rest  of  Europe  she  had  for  years 


156         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

been  trying  to  pull  down.  But  when  Louis 
insolently  espoused  the  cause  of  the  exiled  King 
James,  and  promised  by  force  to  place  the  pre- 
tender on  the  throne,  then  she  needed  no  urg- 
ing, and  sent  Marlborough  and  the  flower  of 
her  army  to  join  Prince  Eugene  in  Germany. 

It  was  Marlborough  at  Blenheim  (1702) 
who  drove  the  iron  of  defeat  into  the  soul  of 
Louis  XIV.  When  the  war  was  ended  he  had 
made  every  concession  demanded ;  had  given  up 
a  vast  extent  of  territory;  banished  the  English 
pretender  from  his  kingdom;  and  acknowl- 
edged Anne  as  queen  of  Great  Britain. 

By  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  (the  Peace  of 
Utrecht)  Gibraltar  passed  to  England;  Spain 
ceded  the  Netherlands  and  all  her  possessions 
in  Italy  to  the  German  empire.  And  so  the  fine 
threads  diplomacy  had  been  spinning  over  the 
Continent  for  two  centuries  were  ruthlessly 
brushed  away  as  a  spider's  web. 

An  imbittered,  broken  old  man,  shorn  of  his 
omnipotence,  who  had  outlived  his  fame  and  his 
worshippers,  was  dying  in  his  great  palace  at 
Versailles;  his  only  solace  the  austere  woman 
who  had  inspired  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes,  and  who  upon  the  death  of  his  un- 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         157 

happy  queen  he  had  privately  made  his  wife. 
Marie  Therese  had  borne  his  mad  infatuation 
for  Louise  la  Valliere;  la  Valliere  had  carried 
her  broken  heart  to  a  convent,  and  been  super- 
seded by  de  Montespan,  and  de  Montespan  had 
invited  her  own  destruction  by  bringing  into 
her  household  Madame  de  Maintenon,  the  pious 
widow  of  the  poet  Scarron,  in  order  that  the 
austere  virtues  of  that  lady  might  be  engrafted 
upon  the  children  of  the  royal  household. 
Grave,  ambitious,  talented,  the  governess  of 
de  Montespan's  children  was  not  too  much 
absorbed  in  her  duties  to  find  ways  of  estab- 
lishing an  influence  over  the  king. 

This  man,  who  had  absorbed  into  himself  all 
the  functions  of  the  government,  who  was  min- 
isters, magistrates,  parliaments,  all  in  one,  this 
central  sun  of  whom  Corneille,  Moliere,  Racine 
were  but  single  rays,  was  destined  to  be  en- 
slaved in  his  old  age  by  a  designing  adventur- 
ess; her  will  his  law.  The  hey-day  of  youth 
having  passed,  he  was  beginning  to  be  anxious 
about  his  soul.  She  artfully  pricked  his  con- 
science, and  de  Montespan  was  sent  away,  but 
de  Maintenon  remained. 

She  next  convinced  him  that  the  only  fitting 


158         A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

atonement  for  his  sins  was  to  drive  heresy  out 
of  his  l<:ingdom,  and  re-estabHsh  the  true  faith 
At  her  bidding  he  undid  the  glorious  work  of 
Henry  IV.,  signed  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes,  and  brutally  stamped  out  Protes- 
tantism. 

During  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  cen- 
turies the  stake  in  the  great  game  played  in 
Europe  was  the  headship,  the  pre-eminent  posi- 
tion held  by  the  house  of  Hapsburg.  The 
entire  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  had  had  this  for  its 
ultimate  object.  He  seemed  many  times  near 
it;  but  was  never  to  reach  the  goal.  The  ab- 
sorption of  Spain  was  a  last  and  desperate 
attempt.  It  had  failed.  France  had  not  won 
the  leadership  of  European  civilization. 

In  the  coming  reign,  new  forces,  new  condi- 
tions, were  to  widen  the  field  of  national  ambi- 
tions. And  it  was  the  nation  across  the  channel 
which  would  grasp  these  forces  and  distance 
her  rivals  in  an  advance  along  the  untried  paths 
of  commerce  and  a  world-wide  expansion. 

With  a  strange  apathy  France  had  seen  her- 
self mistress  of  a  large  part  of  the  American 
Continent,  won  for  her  by  adventurous  French- 
men and  Catholic  missionaries.     She  did  prac- 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         1 59 

tically  nothing  to  develop  this  magnificent  co- 
lonial empire.  Failing  to  comprehend  chang- 
ing conditions,  the  same  old  problem,  with  a 
towering  house  of  Hapsburg,  obscured  her 
view,  and  remained  the  great  unchanging  fact 
about  which  her  policy  revolved. 

Louis  XV.  was  five  years  old  when,  in  171 5, 
he  became  heir  to  a  throne  absolutely  rigid. 
The  best  work  of  Richelieu  and  Mazarin  and 
Louis  XIV.  had  been  expended  upon  it.  Ab- 
solutism could  go  no  farther.  The  king  was 
all;  next  below  him  a  fawning,  obsequious 
nobility,  and  then  that  vague  entity  known  as 
"  the  people,"  a  remote  invisible  force,  sustain- 
ing the  weight  of  the  splendid  pyramid,  the 
apex  of  which  was  this  boy  of  five. 

The  young  Louis  was  being  prepared  to  sit 
upon  this  giddy  elevation.  The  Duke  of  Or- 
leans, his  accomplished  cousin,  a  competent 
instructor  in  vice,  was  chosen  as  regent,  and 
the  royal  education  began.  The  best  and  rarest 
of  the  world's  culture  was  at  his  service. 
Fenelon,  the  polished  ecclesiastic,  fed  him  the 
classics  in  tempting  form  from  his  own  Tele- 
maque,  written  for  the  purpose.  Although  this 
work  was  later  suppressed  by  the  boy's  royal 


l6o         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

father  under  the  suspicion  of  being  a  covert 
satire  upon  his  own  reign,  in  which  Madame 
de  Montespan  was  represented  by  Calypso ;  and 
other  famous  or  infamous  members  of  his  court 
also  appeared  in  thin  disguise. 

The  handsome  boy  was  breathing  the  atmos- 
phere of  genius  created  by  an  age  which  com- 
pares well  with  those  of  Pericles  and  Augustus 
and  the  Medici,  and  nourished  at  the  same  time 
by  the  exhalations  from  a  new  crop  of  vices 
growing  out  of  the  decaying  remains  of  those 
left  by  the  old  court. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

Such  was  the  preparation  for  a  supreme 
crisis  in  the  Hfe  of  the  Kingdom. 

The  enormous  debt  left  by  the  last  reign 
taxed  the  ingenuity  of  the  regent  to  its  utmost. 
Then  it  was  that  John  Law,  the  Scotchman, 
presented  his  great  financial  scheme  of  making 
unlimited  wealth  out  of  paper,  which  was  just 
what  the  regent  needed.  The  collapse  came 
quickly,  in  1720,  bringing  ruin  to  thousands, 
and  leaving  the  country  in  more  desperate  need 
than  before. 

When  declared  of  age,  in  1723,  a  marriage 
was  arranged  for  Louis  with  Marie  Leczinska, 
daughter  of  the  exiled  Polish  King  Stanislas. 
Europe  at  this  time  was  agitated  over  the  suc- 
cession to  the  throne  of  Austria,  as  the  empire 
was  now  called.  The  Salic  Law  excluded 
female  heirs,  and  the  emperor,  Charles  VI., 
had  died  in   1718,   leaving  only  a  daughter, 

Maria  Theresa,  one  year  old.     But  a  prag- 
161 


l62         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

matic  sanction,  once  more  invoked,  seems  to 
have  covered  the  necessities  of  the  situation  by 
providing  that  the  succession  in  the  absence  of 
a  male  heir  might  descend  to  a  female,  and  so 
there  was  a  young  and  beautiful  empress  on 
the  throne  at  Vienna,  who  was  going  to  make 
a  great  deal  of  history  for  Europe;  and  who 
would  open  her  brilliant  reign  by  a  valiant  fight 
for  possession  of  Silesia,  which  the  young  king 
of  Prussia  intended  to  seize  as  an  addition  to 
his  own  new  kingdom.  This  young  King 
Frederick  was  also  making  history  very  fast, 
and  after  a  stormy  career  was  going  to  con- 
vert his  Kingdom  into  a  Power,  and  to  be  the 
one  sovereign  of  his  age  whom  the  world  would 
call  Great!  But  at  this  particular  period  of  his 
youth,  Frederick  and  his  nobility,  still  blinded 
by  the  splendors  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV., 
were  mere  servile  imitators  of  the  court  at  Ver- 
sailles, and  the  culture  and  the  civilization  for 
which  they  hungered  were  French — only 
French;  and  for  Frederick,  an  intimate  com- 
panionship with  Voltaire  was  his  supreme  de- 
sire. But  a  closer  view  of  the  witty,  cynical 
Frenchman  wrought  a  wonderful  change. 
The  finely  pointed  shafts  of  ridicule  when  aimed 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         163 

at  himself  were  not  so  entertaining.  And  his 
guest,  no  longer  persona  grata,  was  escorted 
over  the  frontier  to  France. 

A  nearer  view  of  Versailles  at  this  time 
might  also  have  disenchanted  these  worship- 
pers at  the  shrine  of  French  civilization.  A 
king  absolutely  indifferent  to  conditions  in 
his  kingdom,  immersed  in  debasing  pleasures, 
while  Madame  de  Pompadour  actually  ruled 
the  state — this  is  not  the  worst  they  would 
have  seen!  Destitute  of  shame,  of  pity,  of 
patriotism,  and  of  human  affection,  what  did  it 
mean  to  the  king  that  his  people  were  growing 
desperate  under  the  enormous  taxation  made 
necessary  by  incessant  wars  and  by  the  extrava- 
gant expenditures  of  the  court  ?  Louis  simply 
turned  his  back  upon  the  whole  problem  of  ad- 
ministration, and  left  his  ministers,  Fleury,  and 
later  de  Choiseul,  to  deal  with  the  misery  and 
the  discontent  and  to  make  their  way  through 
the  financial  morass  as  best  they  might. 

The  power  of  Madame  de  Pompadour  may 
be  imagined  when  we  learn  that  Maria  Theresa, 
empress  and  proud  daughter  of  the  Csesars, 
when  she  needed  the  friendship  of  Louis  XIV., 
in  her  struggle  with  Frederick  of  Prussia,  in. 


1 64         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

order  to  win  him  to  her  side,  wrote  a  flatter- 
ing letter  to  this  woman. 

This  friendship,  so  artfully  sought  by  the 
empress,  led  to  another  very  different  and  very 
momentous  alliance.  A  marriage  was  ar- 
ranged between  her  little  daughter,  Marie 
Antoinette,  and  the  boy  Louis,  who  was  to  be 
the  future  king  of  France.  The  dauphin,  the 
dauphiness,  and  their  eldest  child  were  all  dead. 
So  Louis,  the  second  son  of  the  dauphin,  was 
the  heir  to  his  grandfather,  Louis  XV. 

How  should  the  empress  of  Austria,  born, 
nurtured,  and  fed  in  the  very  centre  of  despot- 
ism, utterly  misunderstanding  as  she  must  the 
past,  the  present,  and  the  future,  how  should 
she  suspect  that  the  throne  of  France  would  be 
a  scaffold  for  her  child  ?  Hapsburg  and  Bour- 
bon were  to  her  realities  as  enduring  as  the 
Alps. 

In  the  meantime  England  and  France  had 
come  into  collision  over  their  boundaries  in 
America,  and  the  war  opened  by  Braddock  and 
his  young  aide,  Washington,  had  been  a  still 
further  drain  upon  impoverished  France. 
With  the  loss  of  Montreal  and  Quebec,  those 
two  strongholds  in  the  north,  the  French  were 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         1 65 

virtually  defeated.  And  when  the  end  came, 
France  had  lost  every  inch  of  territory  on  the 
North  American  Continent,  and  had  ceded  her 
vast  possessions,  extending  from  Canada  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  to  England  and  Spain, 

So  while  England  was  steadily  building  up 
a  world-empire,  penetrated  with  the  forces  of 
a  modern  age,  France,  loaded  with  debt,  was 
taxing  a  people  crying  for  bread — taxing  a 
starving  people  for  money  to  procure  unimagi- 
nable luxuries  and  pleasures  for  Madame  du 
Barry,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  place  once 
held  by  Madame  de  Pompadour.  Did  she  de- 
sire a  snowstorm  and  a  sleighride  in  midsum- 
mer, these  must  be  created  and  made  possible. 
And  one  may  see  to-day  at  Versailles  the 
sleigh  in  which  this  mad  caprice  was  realized. 

The  various  instructors  of  Louis  XV.  had 
not  taught  him  anything  about  mind  and  soul 
processes.  They  were  quite  unaware  that  there 
had  commenced  a  movement  in  the  brain  of 
France,  which  was  going  to  liberate  terrific 
forces — forces  which  would  sweep  before  them 
the  work  of  the  Richelieus  and  the  Mazarins 
and  the  Colberts  as  if  it  were  chaff. 

The  human  mind  was  probing,  questioning, 


1 66         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

doubting,  everything  it  had  once  believed.  And 
as  one  after  another  cherished  behefs  disap- 
peared, it  grew  still  more  daring.  The  whole 
religious,  social,  and  political  system  was 
wrong.  The  only  remedy  was  to  overthrow 
it  all,  and  crown  reason  as  the  sovereign  of  a 
new  era.  Such  was  the  ferment  at  work  be- 
neath the  surface  as  Louis  was  devising  incred- 
ible extravagances  for  du  Barry.  And  there 
was  rage  in  men's  hearts  as  they  wrote  insult- 
ing lines  upon  his  equestrian  statue  in  the  Place 
Louis  Quinze. 

The  Place  Louis  Quinze  was  soon  to  be  the 
Place  de  la  Revolution.  The  bronze  statue  was 
to  be  melted  into  bullets  by  a  maddened  popu- 
lace, and  standing  on  that  very  spot  was  to 
be  the  guillotine  which  would  destroy  king, 
queen,  the  king's  sister,  and  a  great  part  of  the 
nobility  of  France. 

It  is  said  that  the  three  great  events  of 
modern  times  are  the  Reformation,  the  Ameri- 
can War  of  Independence,  and  the  French 
Revolution.  Events  such  as  these  have  a 
lurid  background,  a  long  vista  of  causes  be- 
hind them!  A  French  Revolution  is  not  the 
work  of  a  day^  nor  of  a  single  man.     There  had 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         167 

been  a  steady  movement  toward  this  event  for 
a  thousand  years — in  fact,  ever  since  the  dogma 
that  labor  is  degrading  was  placed  at  the  foun- 
dation of  the  social  structure  of  France. 

The  direct  causes  which  were  precipitating 
the  crisis  in  the  closing  eighteenth  century  were 
financial  and  economic,  while  the  contributing 
causes  were  a  remarkable  intellectual  move- 
ment and  the  War  of  Independence  in  Amer- 
ica. It  is  possible  that  a  king  with  a  heart  and 
a  brain,  and  the  moral  sense  which  belongs  to 
ordinary  humanity,  might  have  averted  this 
tragic  outburst,  and  at  least  have  delayed  the 
event  by  awakening  hope.  The  Revolution 
w^as  born  of  hopeless  misery.  With  the  reign 
of  Louis  XV.  hope  died,  and  his  successor  fell 
heir  to  the  inevitable. 

A  heartless  sybarite,  depraved  in  tastes,  with- 
out sense  of  responsibility  or  comprehension  of 
his  times,  a  brutalized  voluptuary  governed  by 
a  succession  of  designing  women,  regardless  of 
national  poverty,  indulging  in  wildest  extrava- 
gance— such  was  the  man  in  whom  was  vested 
the  authority  rendered  so  absolute  by  Richelieu ; 
such  the  man  who  opened  up  a  pathway  for 
the  storm. 


1 68         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

As  for  the  nobility,  their  degradation  may 
be  imagined  when  it  is  said  there  was  as  bitter 
rivalry  between  titled  and  illustrious  fathers  to 
secure  for  their  daughters  the  coveted  position 
held  by  Madame  de  Pompadour,  as  for  the 
highest  offices  of  State. 

Could  the  upper  ranks  fall  lower  than  this? 
Had  not  the  kingdom  reached  its  lowest  depths, 
where  its  foreign  policy  was  determined  by  the 
amount  of  consideration  shown  to  Madame  de 
Pompadour?  But  this  woman,  whose  friend- 
ship was  artfully  sought  by  the  great  Em- 
press Maria  Theresa,  was  superseded,  and  the 
fresher  charms  of  Madame  du  Barry  enslaved 
the  king.  The  deposed  favorite  could  not  sur- 
vive her  fall,  and  died  of  a  broken  heart.  It 
is  said  that  as  Louis,  looking  from  an  upper 
window  of  his  palace,  saw  the  coffin  borne  out 
in  a  drenching  rain,  he  smiled,  and  said,  "  Ah, 
the  marquise  has  a  bad  day  for  her  journey." 
It  may  be  imagined  that  the  man  who  could  be 
so  pitiless  to  the  woman  he  had  loved  would 
feel  little  pity  for  the  people  whom  he  had  not 
loved,  but  whom  he  knew  only  as  a  remote, 
obscure  something,  which  held  up  the  weight  of 
his  glory. 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         169 

But  this  "  obscure  something  "  was  under- 
going strange  transformation.  The  greater 
light  at  the  surface  had  sent  some  ghmmering 
rays  down  into  the  mass  below,  which  began 
to  awaken  and  to  think.  Misery,  hopeless  and 
abject,  was  changing  into  rage  and  thirst  for 
vengeance, 

A  new  class  had  come  into  existence  which 
was  not  noble,  but  with  highly  trained  intelli- 
gence it  looked  with  contempt  and  loathing 
upon  the  frivolous,  half-educated  nobles. 
Scorn  was  added  to  the  ferment  of  human  pas- 
sions beneath  the  surface,  and  when  Voltaire 
had  spoken,  and  the  restraints  of  religion  were 
loosened,  no  living  hand,  not  that  of  a  Riche- 
lieu nor  a  Louis  XIV.,  could  have  averted  the 
coming  doom.  But  no  one  seems  to  have  sus- 
pected what  was  approaching. 

A  wonderful  literature  had  come  into  ex- 
istence, not  stately  and  classic  as  in  the  age  pre- 
ceding, but  instinct  with  a  new  sort  of  life. 
The  profoundest  themes  which  can  occupy  the 
mind  of  man  were  handled  with  marvellous 
lightness  of  touch  and  clothed  with  prismatic 
brilliancy  of  speech;  but  all  was  negation. 
None  tried  to  build;  all  to   demolish.     The 


I70         A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

black-winged  angel  of  Destruction  was  hover- 
ing over  the  land. 

Then  Rousseau  tossed  his  dreamy  abstrac- 
tions into  the  quivering  air,  and  the  formula, 
"  Liberty,  Equality,  and  Fraternity,"  was 
caught  up  by  the  titled  aristocracy  as  a  charm- 
ing idyllic  toy,  while  princes,  dukes,  and  mar- 
quises amused  themselves  with  a  dream  of 
Arcadian  simplicity,  to  be  attained  in  some 
indefinite  way,  in  some  remote  and  equally  in- 
definite future.  It  was  all  a  masquerade.  No 
reality,  no  sincerity,  no  convictions,  good  or 
evil.  The  only  thing  that  was  real  was  that  an 
over-taxed,  impoverished  people  was  exasper- 
ated and — hungry. 

Did  the  king  need  new  supplies  for  his  un- 
imaginable luxuries,  they  were  taxed.  Was 
it  necessary  to  have  new  accessions  to  French 
"  gJory/'  i^  order  to  allay  popular  clamor  or 
discontent,  they  must  supply  the  men  to  fight 
the  glorious  battles,  and  the  means  with  which 
to  pay  them.  Every  burden  fell  at  last  upon 
this  lowest  stratum  of  the  State;  the  nobility 
and  clergy,  while  owning  two-thirds  of  the 
land,  being  nearly  exempt  from  taxation. 

And  yet  the  king  and  nobility  of  France,  in 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         171 

love  with  Rousseau's  theories,  were  airily  dis- 
cussing the  "  rights  of  man  " — wolves  and 
foxes  coming  together  to  talk  over  the  sacred- 
ness  of  the  rights  of  property,  or  the  occupants 
of  murderers'  row  growing  eloquent  over  the 
sanctity  of  human  life!  How  incomprehen- 
sible that  among  those  quick-witted  French- 
men there  seems  not  one  to  have  realized  that 
the  logical  sequence  of  the  formula,  "  Liberty, 
Equality,  and  Fraternity,"  must  be,  "  Down 
with  the  Aristocrats !  " 

And  so  the  surface  which  Richelieu  had  con- 
verted into  adamant  grew  thinner  and  thinner 
each  day,  until  king  and  court  danced  upon  a 
mere  gilded  crust,  unconscious  of  the  abysmal 
fires  beneath.  Some  of  those  powdered  heads 
fell  into  the  executioner's  basket  twenty-five 
years  later.  Did  they  recall  this  time?  Did 
Madame  du  Barry  think  of  it?  Did  she  exult 
at  her  triumph  over  de  Pompadour,  when  she 
was  dragged  shrieking  and  struggling  to  the 
guillotine  ? 

Five  years  before  the  close  of  this  miserable 
reign  an  event  occurred  seemingly  of  small  im- 
portance to  Europe.     A  child  was  born  in  an 


172         A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

obscure  Italian  household.  His  name  was  Na- 
poleon Bonaparte.  His  birthplace,  the  island 
of  Corsica,  had  only  two  months  before  been 
incorporated  with  France.  The  fates  even 
then  were  watching  over  this  child  of  destiny, 
who  might,  by  a  slight  turn  of  events  then  im- 
minent, have  been  born  a  subject  of  Spain,  or 
Germany,  or  of  George  HI.  of  England, 

The  impoverished  Republic  of  Genoa  was  in 
desperate  need  of  money.  The  island  could  be 
had  by  the  highest  bidder,  and  in  1768  it  was 
purchased  by  France,  just  in  time  to  make  the 
great  Corsican  a  French  citizen. 

Indeed,  all  the  performers  in  the  approaching 
drama  were  assembled.  Three  young  princes, 
grandsons  of  Louis  XV.,  who  were  to  be  suc- 
cessively upon  the  throne  of  France,  were  at 
Versailles :  Louis  the  Dauphin,  now  twenty, 
and  his  Austrian  bride,  Marie  Antoinette,  and 
his  two  brothers,  afterward  successively  Louis 
XVIII.  and  Charles  X.  Still  another  prince- 
ling, Louis  Philippe,  was  at  the  Palais  Royal, 
son  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  late  regent,  also 
destined  to  wear  the  French  crown ;  and  last  of 
all  that  infant  at  Ajaccio,  in  whom  the  play  was 
to  reach  its  splendid  climax. 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         173 

In  1744  Louis  XV.  was  stricken  with  small- 
pox, and  exchanged  the  brilliant  scenes  at  Ver- 
sailles for  the  royal  vault  in  the  Church  of 
St.  Denis,  where  he  took  his  place  among  his 

ancestors. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

Louis  XV.  was  dead,  and  two  children,  with 
the  light-heartedness  of  youth  and  inexperi- 
ence, stepped  upon  the  throne  which  was  to  be 
a  scaffold — Louis  XVI.,  only  twenty,  and 
Marie  Antoinette,  his  wife,  nineteen.  He, 
amiable,  kind,  full  of  generous  intentions ;  she, 
beautiful,  simple,  child-like,  and  lovely.  In- 
stead of  a  debauched  old  king  with  depraved 
surroundings,  here  were  a  prince  and  princess 
out  of  a  fairy  tale.  The  air  was  filled  with 
indefinite  promise  of  a  new  era  for  mankind  to 
be  inaugurated  by  this  amiable  young  king, 
whose  kindness  of  heart  shone  forth  in  his  first 
speech,  "  We  will  have  no  more  loans,  no  credit, 
no  fresh  burdens  on  the  people;  "  then,  leaving 
his  ministers  to  devise  ways  of  paying  the  enor- 
mous salaries  of  officials  out  of  an  empty  treas- 
ury, and  to  arrange  the  financial  details  of  his 
benevolent  scheme  of  government,  he  proceeded 
with  his  gay  and  brilliant  young  wife  to 
174 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         175 

Rheims,  there  to  be  crowned  with  a  magnifi- 
cence undreamed  of  by  Louis  XIV. 

In  the  midst  of  these  rejoicings  over  the  new 
reign,  and  of  speculative  dreams  of  universal 
freedom,  there  was  wafted  across  the  Atlantic 
news  of  a  handful  of  patriots  arrayed  against 
the  tyranny  of  the  British  Crown.  Here  were 
the  theories  of  the  new  philosophy  translated 
into  the  reality  of  actual  experience.  ''  No 
taxation  without  representation,"  "  No  privi- 
leged class,"  *'  No  government  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  governed."  Was  this  not  an  em- 
bodiment of  their  dreams  ?  Nor  did  it  detract 
from  the  interest  in  the  conflict  that  England — 
England,  the  hated  rival  of  France — was  defied 
by  an  indignant  people  of  her  own  race.  There 
was  not  a  young  noble  in  the  land  who  would 
not  have  rushed,  if  he  could,  to  the  defence  of 
the  outraged  colonies. 

The  king,  half  doubting,  and  vaguely  fear- 
ing, was  swept  into  the  current,  and  the  ar- 
mies and  the  courage  of  the  Americans  were 
splendidly  reinforced  by  generous,  enthusiastic 
France. 

Why  should  the  simple-hearted  Louis  see 
what  no  one  else  seemed  to  see:  that  victory 


176         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

or  failure  was  alike  full  of  peril  for  France? 
If  the  colonies  were  conquered,  France  would 
feel  the  hostility  of  England;  if  they  were 
freed  and  self-governing,  the  principle  of  mon- 
archy had  a  staggering  blow. 

In  the  mean  time,  as  the  American  Revolu- 
tion moved  on  toward  success,  there  was  talk 
in  the  cabin  as  well  as  the  chateau  of  the 
"  rights  of  man."  In  shops  and  barns,  as  well 
as  in  clubs  and  drawing-rooms,  there  was  a 
glimmering  of  the  coming  day. 

"  What  is  true  upon  one  continent  is  true 
upon  another,"  say  they.  "  If  it  is  cowardly 
to  submit  to  tyranny  in  America,  what  is  it  in 
France  ?  "  "  If  Englishmen  may  revolt  against 
oppression,  why  may  not  Frenchmen  ?  "  "  No 
government  without  the  consent  of  the  gov- 
erned ? — When  has  our  consent  been  asked,  the 
consent  of  twenty-five  million  people?  Are  we 
sheep,  that  we  have  let  a  few  thousands  gov- 
ern us  for  a  thousand  years,  without  our  con- 
sent?" 

Poverty  and  hunger  gave  force  and  urgency 
to  these  questions.  The  people  began  to  clamor 
more  boldly  for  the  good  time  which  had  been 
promised  by  the  kind-hearted  king.     The  mur- 


A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.         177 

mur  swelled  to  an  ominous  roar.  Thousands 
were  at  his  very  palace  gates,  telling  him  in  no 
unmistakable  terms  that  they  were  tired  of 
smooth  words  and  fair  promises.  What  they 
wanted  was  a  new  constitution  and — bread. 

Poor  Louis!  the  one  could  be  made  with  pen 
and  paper;  but  by  what  miracle  could  he  pro- 
duce the  other?  How  gladly  would  he  have 
given  them  anything.  But  what  could  he  do? 
There  was  not  enough  money  to  pay  the  sal- 
aries of  his  officials,  nor  for  his  gay  young 
queen's  fetes  and  balls!  The  old  way  would 
have  been  to  impose  new  taxes.  But  how 
could  he  tax  a  people  crying  at  his  gates  for 
bread?  He  made  more  promises  which  he 
could  not  keep ;  yielded,  one  after  another,  con- 
cessions of  authority  and  dignity;  then  vacil- 
lated, and  tried  to  return  over  the  slippeiy  path, 
only  to  be  dragged  on  again  by  an  irresistible 
fate. 

Louis'  Minister  of  Finance,  Turgot,  was  a 
trained  economist  and  a  man  of  very  great 
ability.  When  Louis  assured  the  people,  in  the 
speech  after  his  coronation,  that  there  were  to 
be  "  no  more  loans,  no  fresh  burdens  on  tlie 
people,"  he  did  not  know  how  Turgot  was 


178         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

going  to  accomplish  this  miracle.  He  was  un- 
aware that  it  was  to  be  done  by  cutting  off  the 
cherished  privileges  of  the  nobility,  and  that 
the  proposed  reforms  were  all  aimed  at  the 
privileged  classes.  When  this  became  appar- 
ent, indignation  was  great  at  Versailles.  The 
court  would  not  hear  of  economy.  Turgot  was 
dismissed,  and  Necker,  a  Swiss  banker  (father 
of  Madame  de  Stael),  called  to  fill  his  place. 

Necker  made  another  mistake.  He  took  the 
people  into  his  confidence,  let  them  know  the 
sources  of  revenue,  the  nature  of  expenditures, 
and  measures  of  relief.  This  was  very  quiet- 
ing to  the  public,  but  exasperating  to  the  privi- 
leged classes,  who  had  never  taken  the  people 
into  their  confidence,  and  considered  it  an  im- 
pertinence for  them  to  inquire  how  the  moneys 
were  spent.  And  so  Louis,  again  yielding  to 
the  pressure  at  Versailles,  dismissed  Necker; 
then,  in  the  outburst  of  rage  which  followed, 
tried  to  retrace  his  steps  and  recall  him. 

But  events  were  moving  too  swiftly  for  that 
now.  In  the  existing  temper  of  the  people, 
small  reforms  and  concessions  were  unavailing. 
They  were  demanding  that  the  States  General 
be  called. 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         1 79 

The  critical  moment  had  come.  If  Louis  of 
his  own  initiative  had  summoned  that  body  to 
confer  over  the  situation,  it  would  have  been 
a  very  different  thing ;  but  a  call  of  the  States- 
General  at  the  demand  of  the  people  was  a  vir- 
tual surrender  of  the  very  principle  of  absolu- 
tism. The  work  of  Richelieu,  Mazarin,  and 
Louis  XIV.  would  be  undone;  for  it  would  in- 
volve an  acknowledgment  of  the  right  of  the 
people  to  dictate  to  the  king,  and  to  participate 
in  the  government  of  the  nation.  The  whole 
revolutionary  contention  was  vindicated  in  this 
act. 

The  call  was  issued;  and  when  Louis,  in 
1789,  convoked  the  States  General,  he  made 
his  last  concession  to  the  demands  of  his  sub- 
jects. 

That  almost-forgotten  body  had  not  been 
seen  since  Richelieu  effaced  all  the  auxiliary 
functions  of  government.  Nobles,  ecclesiastics, 
and  Tiers  Etat  (or  commons)  found  them- 
selves face  to  face  once  more.  The  courtly 
contemptuous  nobles,  the  princely  ecclesiastics 
were  unchanged,  but  there  w^as  a  new  expres- 
sion in  the  pale  faces  of  the  commons.  There 
was  a  look  of  calm  defiance  as  they  met  the  dis- 


l8o         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

dainful  gaze  of  the  aristocrats  across  the  gulf 
of  two  centuries. 

The  two  superior  bodies  absolutely  refused 
to  sit  in  the  same  room  with  the  commons. 
They  might  under  the  same  roof,  but  in  the 
same  room — never. 

There  was  an  historic  precedent  for  this  re- 
fusal. The  three  estates  had  always  acted  as 
three  separate  bodies.  So  the  demand  in  itself 
was  an  encroachment  upon  the  ancient  dignity 
of  the  two  superior  bodies,  which  they  resented. 
But  they  might  better  have  yielded.  The  Tiers 
Etat  with  dignity  and  firmness  insisted  that 
they  should  meet  and  vote  together  as  one  body, 
or  they  would  constitute  themselves  a  separate 
body,  and  act  independently  of  the  other  two. 
This  was  the  Rubicon.  On  one  side  compro- 
mise, and  possible  co-operation  of  the  three  leg- 
islative bodies;  on  the  other,  revolution,  in 
charge  of  the  people. 

Aristocratic  France  was  offered  its  last 
chance,  and  committed  its  last  act  of  arrogance 
and  folly.  The  ultimatum  was  refused  by  the 
nobles  and  clergy.  And  the  Tiers  Etat  de- 
clared itself  the  National  Assembly,  in  which 
was  vested  all  the  legislative  authority  of  the 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         l8l 

kingdom.  The  people  had  taken  possession  of 
the  Government  of  France ! 

The  predetermined  destruction  of  the  mon- 
archy seems  evident,  when  at  the  most  critical 
point,  and  at  the  moment  calling  for  the  most 
careful  retrenchment  and  reform,  fate  had 
placed  Louis  XV.,  acting  like  a  madman  in  the 
excesses  of  his  profligacy;  and,  at  the  next 
stage,  while  the  last  opportunity  still  existed  by 
main  force  to  drag  the  nation  back,  and  hold  it 
from  going  over  the  brink,  there  stood  the  most 
excellent,  tile  kindest-hearted  but  weakest  gen- 
tleman who  ever  wore  the  name  of  king !  When 
the  distracted  Louis  gave  the  impotent  order 
for  the  National  Assembly  to  disperse,  and  for 
the  three  bodies  to  assemble  and  vote  separately, 
according  to  ancient  custom;  and  then  when 
he  gave  still  further  proof  of  childish  incom- 
petency by  telling  the  Tiers  Etat  they  were 
"  not  to  meddle  with  the  privileges  of  the  higher 
orders,"  kingship  had  become  a  mockery.  It 
was  a  child  telling  the  tornado  not  to  come  in 
that  direction. 

When  the  king's  herald  read  to  the  National 
Assembly  this  foolish  message,  ending  with  the 
formula,  "  You  hear,  gentlemen,  the  orders  of 


l82  A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

the  king,"  Mirabeau  sprang  to  his  feet,  saying, 
"  Go,  tell  your  master  we  are  here  by  the  will 
of  the  people,  and  will  be  only  removed  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet,"  the  pitiful  king  then 
yielding  to  this  defiance,  even  begging  the  no- 
bles and  deputies  of  the  clergy  to  join  the 
National  Assembly — a  revolutionary  assembly, 
which  was  holding  its  meetings  in  his  own  Pal- 
ace of  Versailles,  and  which  was  every  day 
gravitating  from  its  original  lofty  purpose ;  its 
rallying  cry  for  justice  and  reform  of  abuses 
changing  to  "Down  with  the  Aristocrats!" 
It  was  becoming  alarming,  so  Louis  ordered 
the  body  to  disperse;  and  when  soldiers  stood 
at  the  door  to  prevent  its  assembling,  it  took 
possession  of  the  queen's  tennis  court,  and  there 
each  member  took  a  solemn  oath  not  to  dissolve 
until  the  object  they  sought  had  been  secured. 
There  were  some  among  the  clergy  and  the 
nobles  who  realized  the  necessity  for  reforms, 
and  who  would  gladly  have  joined  a  movement 
inaugurated  in  a  different  spirit.  Hence,  partly 
from  alarm,  and  partly  impelled  by  other  rea- 
sons and  purposes,  more  or  less  pure,  there  was 
finally  a  secession  from  the  two  aristocratic 
bodies ;  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  cousin  of  the  king. 


A    SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  183 

leading  the  movement  in  one,  and  three  arch- 
bishops in  the  other.  These,  with  their  follow- 
ers, appeared  among  the  Tiers  Etat  as  converts 
to  the  popular  cause,  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette, 
hero  of  the  late  American  War,  sitting  next  to 
Mirabeau,  the  powerful  and  eloquent  leader  of 
the  whole  movement  in  its  first  days. 

Concerning  the  genius  of  Mirabeau  there  is 
no  difference  of  opinion.  All  are  agreed  that 
intellectually  he  towered  far  above  every  one 
about  him.  But  whether  he  was  the  incarna- 
tion of  good  or  of  evil,  the  world  is  still  in 
doubt;  and  also  whether  he  could  have  guided 
the  forces  he  had  invoked,  if  a  premature  death 
had  not  swept  him  off  from  the  scene,  leaving 
Robespierre,  a  man  concerning  whom  there  is 
no  disagreement  of  opinion,  to  guide  the  storm. 

Paris  was  becoming  wild  with  excitement. 
Clubs  and  associations  were  in  every  quarter, 
and  detachments  of  a  Parisian  mob  marched 
and  sang  at  night,  firing  the  hearts  of  the  rab- 
ble. But  it  was  the  Palais  Royal,  the  home  of 
the  Duke  of  Orleans,  that  friend  of  the  people, 
which  was  the  heart  of  the  whole  movement. 
There,  patriots  and  lovers  of  France,  their 
hearts  aflame  with  noble  aspiration  for  their 


1 84         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE, 

country,  met  with  schemers  without  heart, 
more  or  less  wicked,  the  Camille  Desmouhns 
and  the  Marats  all  fused  into  one  body  under 
the  leadership  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  cousin 
of  the  king,  who,  rising  superior  to  aristocratic 
traditions,  believed  in  Equality,  and  was  the 
man  of  the  people — Philippe  Egalite!  His 
young  son  Louis  Philippe  perhaps  listened  with 
wonder  to  the  sounds  of  strange  revelry  and 
the  wild  shouts  which  greeted  the  eloquence  of 
Camille  Desmoulins  and  of  Marat. 

At  last  a  rumor  reached  the  Palais  Royal, 
and  from  there  ran  through  the  streets  like  an 
electric  current,  that  the  king's  soldiers  were 
marching  upon  the  Assembly  to  disperse  it. 
Mad  with  wine  and  excitement,  a  common  im- 
pulse seized  the  entire  populace,  to  destroy  the 
Bastille,  that  old  stronghold  of  despotism,  that 
symbol  of  royal  tyranny.  This  prison-fortress, 
with  its  eight  great  round  towers,  and  moat 
eighty-three  feet  wide,  had  stood  since  1371, 
and  represented  more  tragic  human  experi- 
ences than  any  structure  in  France.  In  an 
hour  the  doors  were  burst  open,  and  before  the 
sun  went  down  the  heads  of  the  governor  and 
his  officials  were  being  carried  on  pikes  through 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         185 

the  Streets  of  Paris.  The  horrible  drama  had 
opened.  The  tiger  in  the  slums  had  tasted 
blood,  and  would  want  it  again. 

Thus  far  it  was  only  an  insurgent  mob,  com- 
mitting violence,  and  the  National  Assembly  at 
once  created  a  body  of  militia,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Lafayette,  for  the  protection  of  Paris. 

When  the  news  of  the  fall  of  the  Bastille 
reached  Versailles,  the  king,  still  failing  to  real- 
ize the  gravity  of  the  situation,  exclaimed, 
"  Then  it  is  a  revolt !  "  "  Sire,"  said  the  Duke 
de  Liancourt,  "  it  is  a  Revolution !  " 

The  king  found  himself  deserted.  His  ter- 
rified nobles  almost  in  a  body  were  fleeing  from 
the  kingdom.  Bewildered,  not  knowing  wdiat 
to  do,  or  what  not  to  do,  and  desiring  to  assure 
the  people  that  he  was  their  friend,  he  appeared 
before  the  National  Assembly  and  made  the  last 
sacrifice — accepted  the  Tricolor;  adopted  the 
livery  of  the  revolutionary  party !  The  act  was 
received  with  immense  enthusiasm,  and  the  out- 
look became  more  reassuring. 

Then  the  garrison  at  the  palace  was  re- 
enforced  by  a  regiment  from  the  country,  and 
a  dinner  was  given  to  welcome  the  new  officers. 
The  king  and  queen  were  urged  to  enter  the 


l86         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

room  for  a  few  moments,  simply  as  an  act  of 
courtesy.  Marie  Antoinette  most  reluctantly 
consented  to  pass  through  the  banqueting-hall. 
The  officers,  when  they  saw  the  beautiful 
daughter  of  Maria  Theresa,  sprang  to  their 
feet,  and,  flushed  with  wine,  and  in  a  transport 
of  enthusiasm,  committed  a  fatal  act.  Throw- 
ing their  tricolors  under  the  table,  they  drank 
to  the  toast,  "  The  king  forever!  " 

When  this  was  reported  in  Paris  the  storm 
burst  anew.  A  thousand  terrible  women,  led 
by  one  still  more  terrible  than  the  rest,  started 
for  Versailles.  This  crowd  of  base  and  de- 
graded beings,  re-enforced  on  the  way  by  all 
that  is  worst,  arrived  at  the  palace,  and  the 
howling  mob  encamped  outside  in  the  rain  all 
night.  Entrance  at  last  was  found  by  someone, 
and  they  were  inside  and  at  the  queen's  door; 
she  barely  escaping  by  a  hidden  passageway 
leading  to  the  king's  room. 

*'  The  king  to  Paris!  "  was  the  cry;  and  in 
the  morning  the  wretched  Louis  appeared  upon 
the  balcony  and  indicated  his  willingness  to  go 
to  Paris  as  they  desired.  And  then  the  queen, 
hoping  to  touch  their  hearts,  also  appeared 
upon  the  balcony,  holding   in   her  arms   the 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         187 

dauphin,  with  the  tricolor  on  his  breast.  And 
with  this  horrible  escort  they  did  go  back  to 
Paris,  leaving  Versailles  forever,  and  were  vir- 
tually prisoners  at  the  Tuileries. 

The  position  of  Lafayette  at  this  time  is  a 
singular  one:  an  agent  of  the  National  As- 
sembly, protecting  the  king  from  the  Jacobins, 
and  saying  to  Robespierre  and  Marat,  "  If  you 
kill  the  king  to-day,  I  will  place  the  dauphin 
on  the  throne  to-morrow." 

But  the  currents  of  a  cataract  nearing  the 
fall  are  difficult  to  guide.  Three  parties  were 
forming  in  the  National  Assembly :  the  Giron- 
dists, the  party  of  genius  and  eloquence  and  of 
moderation ;  the  Jacobins,  the  party  of  the  ex- 
tremists and  radicals ;  and  a  third  party,  unde- 
cided, waiting  to  see  what  was  safest  and 
best. 

All  that  was  noble  and  true  and  fine  in  the 
French  Revolution  was  in  the  party  of  the 
Girondists.  Dreamers,  idealists,  their  dream 
was  of  a  republic  like  the  one  in  America,  and 
their  ideal  an  impossible  perfection  of  condi- 
tion in  which  human  reason  was  supreme. 
The  excesses  of  the  Revolution  they  did  not  ap- 
prove, but  were  willing  to  sacrifice  the  king 


l88         A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

and  even  the  royal  family,  if  necessary.  They 
did  not  realize  the  forces  with  which  they  were 
airily  playing,  nor  that  the  time  was  at  hand 
when  the  Girondists  would  vainly  strive  to  re- 
strain the  horrible  excesses ;  that,  after  they  had 
sacrificed  the  royal  family,  the  Jacobins  would 
sacrifice  them ;  the  slayers  would  be  slain ! 

Lafayette,  neither  a  Girondist  nor  a  Jacobin, 
was  a  loyal  Frenchman  and  patriot,  with  the 
American  ideal  in  his  heart,  vainly  trying  to 
mediate  between  a  feeble  king  and  a  people 
who  had  lost  their  reason.  The  time  was  near 
w^hen  he  w^ould  give  up  the  hopeless  task  and 
flee  to  escape  being  himself  engulfed. 

A  wretchedly  planned  attempt  at  the  escape 
of  the  royal  family  aggravated  the  situation. 
They  were  recognized  at  Varennes,  brought 
back  with  great  indignity,  and  placed  under 
closer  surveillance  than  before.  On  the  loth 
of  August,  1792,  the  mob  attacked  the  Tuile- 
ries.  The  royal  family  fled  to  the  National 
Assembly  for  protection,  while  their  Swiss 
guards  vainly  defended  the  palace  wuth  their 
lives. 

This  was  the  end  of  the  monarchy.  Louis, 
the  brave  queen  and  her  children,  and  Princess 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         189 

Elizabeth,  sister  of  the  king,  were  removed 
from  the  Assembly  to  the  prison  in  "  The 
Temple,"  and  the  National  Convention  for- 
mally declared  France  a  republic. 

The  grim  prison  to  which  they  were  taken, 
v^ith  its  central  square  tower  flanked  by  four 
round  towers,  had  stood  since  the  time  of 
Philip  Augustus.  It  was  built  for  the  Knights 
Templar,  and  was  chateau,  fortress,  prison,  all 
in  one,  and  was  the  home  of  the  grand  master 
and  those  others  who  were  burned  when  Philip 
IV.  ruthlessly  destroyed  the  order.  The  cen- 
tral tower,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  had 
four  stories.  The  king  and  the  dauphin  were 
imprisoned  in  the  second  story,  and  the  queen, 
her  young  daughter,  and  the  Princess  Elizabeth 
in  the  story  above. 

The  power  swiftly  passed  from  Girondists  to 
Jacobins,  and  a  Revolutionary  Tribunal  was 
created  in  charge  of  the  terrible  triumvirate — 
Robespierre,  Marat,  and  Danton. 

An  awful  travesty  upon  a  court  of  justice 
was  established  in  that  historic  hall  in  the 
Palais  de  Justice.  Its  walls,  which  had  looked 
down  upon  generations  of  Merovingian,  Carlo- 
yingian,  and  Capetian  kings,  now  beheld  the 


190         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

condemnation  of  the  most  innocent  and  well- 
intentioned  of  all  the  kings  of  France. 

The  king  was  arraigned  at  this  court  upon 
the  charge  of  treason,  convicted,  and  con- 
demned to  die  on  the  21st  of  January,  1793.  He 
was  allowed  to  embrace  for  the  last  time  his 
adored  wife  and  children.  At  the  scaffold  he 
tried  to  speak  a  last  word  to  his  people.  The 
drums  were  ordered  to  drown  his  voice,  and 
an  attendant  priest  uttered  the  words,  "  Fits 
de  Saint  Louis,  monies  an  del! " — Son  of 
Saint  Louis,  ascend  to  heaven! — and  all  was 
over.  The  kindest-hearted,  most  inoffensive 
gentleman  in  Europe  had  expiated  the  crimes 
of  his  ancestors. 

More  and  more  furious  swept  the  torrent, 
gathering  to  itself  all  that  was  vile  and  outcast. 
Where  were  the  pale-faced,  determined  patriots 
who  sat  in  the  National  Assembly?  Some  of 
them  riding  with  dukes  and  marquises  to  the 
guillotine.  Was  this  the  equality  they  ex- 
pected when  they  cried,  "  Down  with  the 
Aristocrats  "  ? 

Did  they  think  they  could  guide  the  whirl- 
wind after  raising  it  ?  As  well  whisper  to  the 
cyclone  to  level  only  the  tall  trees,  or  to  the 


A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.         191 

conflagration  to  burn  only  the   temples   and 
palaces. 

With  restraining  agencies  removed,  religion, 
government,  king,  all  swept  away,  that  hideous 
brood  bom  of  vice,  poverty,  hatred,  and  despair 
came  out  from  dark  hiding-places;  and  what 
had  commenced  as  a  patriotic  revolt  had  become 
a  wild  orgy  of  bloodthirsty  demons,  led  by 
three  master-demons,  Robespierre,  Marat,  and 
Danton,  vying  with  each  other  in  ferocity.  . 

Then  we  see  that  simple  girl  thinking  by  one 
supreme  act  of  heroism  and  sacrifice,  like  Joan 
of  Arc,  to  save  her  country.  Foolish  child!  : 
Did  she  think  to  slay  the  monster  devouring  i 
Paris  by  cutting  off  one  of  his  heads?  The 
death  of  Marat  only  added  to  the  fury  of  the 
tempest;  and  the  falling  of  Charlotte  Corday's 
head  was  not  more  noticed  than  the  falling  of 
a  leaf  in  the  forest. 

The  slaughter  of  the  people  had  been  reduced 
to  an  admirable  system.  The  public  prosecu- 
tor, Fouquier-Tinville,  went  every  day  to  the 
"  Committee  of  Public  Safety  "  to  procure  the 
list  of  the  proscribed,  who  were  immediately 
placed  in  the  Conciergerie  to  await  trial.  This 
list  was  then  submitted  to  Robespierre,  who 


192  A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

with  his  pencil  marked  the  names  of  those  who 
would  be  executed  on  the  morrow. 

The  mockery  of  the  trial  of  Charlotte  Cor- 
day  was  not  delayed.  This  girl  belonged  to  a 
family  of  the  smaller  nobility.  In  her  secluded 
life  in  the  country,  a  mind  of  superior  cjuality 
had  fed  upon  the  new  philosophy  of  the  period. 
An  enthusiasm  for  liberty,  and  a  horror  of 
tyranny,  had  taken  possession  of  her.  In  pas- 
sionate sympathy  with  the  early  purposes  of  the 
Revolution,  Marat  seemed  to  her  a  monster,  the 
incarnation  of  the  spirit  which  would  defeat 
the  cause  of  Liberty.  It  was  believed  that  his 
list  of  the  proscribed  was  not  confined  to  Paris, 
but  that  the  names  of  thousands  of  victims  all 
over  France  were  already  designated.  In  that 
extraordinary  scene  at  her  trial,  when  ques- 
tioned, she  impatiently  said,  "  Yes,  yes,  I  killed 
him.  I  killed  one  man  to  save  a  hundred 
thousand !  " 

Nothing  was  lacking  to  make  this,  with  one 
exception,  the  most  dramatic  incident  of  the 
Revolution.  Her  eloquent  address  to  the 
French  people,  found  pinned  to  the  waist  of 
her  dress  after  her  execution,  and  her  splendid 
courage  to  the  end,  rounds  out  the  picturesque 


A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.  193 

Story  of  her  useless  martyrdom.  A  Girondist 
waiting  in  the  Conciergerie,  when  he  heard  of 
her  crime  and  end,  exclaimed :  "  It  will  kill  us  1 
But  she  has  taught  us  how  to  die !  " 

The  end  did  not  come  so  swiftly  for  the 
queen,  who,  after  being  removed  from  the 
Temple,  spent  seventy-two  days  and  nights  in 
the  dark  cell  in  that  abode  of  horrors,  the  Con- 
ciergerie. Then  came  the  trial,  the  inquisitorial 
trial,  lasting  all  through  the  night  in  the  gloom 
of  that  dimly  lighted  hall.  And  at  half-past 
four  in  the  morning  she  heard  without  a  tremor 
the  terrible  words,  "  Marie  Antoinette,  widow 
of  Louis  Capet,  the  Tribunal  condemns  you  to 
die."  Not  for  a  moment  did  this  intrepid 
woman  quail ;  and  a  small  detail  brings  before 
us  vividly  her  wonderful  calmness.  As  she 
reached  the  stairs  in  her  pitiful  return  to  her 
cell,  she  said  simply  to  the  lieutenant  of  the 
gendarmes,  who  was  at  her  side,  "  Monsieur,  I 
can  scarcely  see  {Je  vols  a  peine)  ;  will  you  lead 
me?" 

In  another  half  hour  the  drums  were  beating 
in  every  quarter  in  preparation  for  the  event; 
and  at  ten  o'clock  she  started  upon  her  last  ride. 
A'nd  how  bravely  she  met  her  awful  fate!     We 


194         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

forget  her  follies,  her  reckless  extravagances, 
in  admiration  for  her  courage  as  she  rides  to 
her  death,  with  hands  tied  behind  her,  sitting 
in  that  hideous  tumbril,  head  erect,  pale,  proud, 
defiant,  as  if  upon  a  throne  (October  i6,  1793). 

The  search-light  of  scrutiny  has  been  turned 
upon  this  unfortunate  woman  for  more  than  a 
century,  and  all  that  has  been  discovered  is  that 
she  was  pleasure-loving,  indiscreet,  and  abso- 
lutely ignorant  of  the  gravity  of  her  responsi- 
bility in  the  position  she  occupied. 

In  the  days  of  her  power  and  splendor  she 
lived  as  the  average  woman  of  her  period  would 
have  done  under  the  same  circumstances — not 
better,  and  not  worse.  But  when  the  time 
came  to  try  her  soul  and  test  her  mettle,  she 
evinced  a  strength  and  dignity  and  composure 
surpassing  belief. 

If  there  had  been  any  evidence  of  the  truth 
of  the  story  of  the  diamond  necklace — a  story 
which  no  doubt  hastened  the  revolutionar}'' 
crisis — it  would  certainly  have  been  used  at  her 
trial;  but  it  was  not.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  this  necklace  was  one  of  the  fatal  legacies 
from  the  reign  of  Louis  XV.,  who  had  ordered 
for  du  Barry  this  gift  which  was  to  cost  a  sum 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         195 

large  enough  for  a  king's  ransom.  The  king 
died  before  it  was  completed,  and  the  story- 
became  current  that  ]\Iarie  Antoinette,  the 
hated  Austrian  woman  who  was  ruining  France 
by  her  extravagance,  was  negotiating  for  the 
purchase  of  this  necklace  while  the  people  were 
starving ! 

A  network  of  villainy  is  woven  about  the 
whole  incident,  in  which  the  names  of  a  car- 
dinal and  ladies  high  in  rank  are  involved. 
The  mystery  may  never  be  uncovered,  but  every 
effort  to  connect  the  queen's  name  with  this 
historic  scandal  has  failed. 

Probably  of  all  the  cruelties  inflicted  upon 
this  unhappy  woman,  none  caused  her  such 
anguish  as  the  testimony  of  her  son  before  the 
Revolutionary  Tribunal,  that  he  had  heard  his 
mother  say  she  "  hated  the  French  people." 
Placed  under  the  care  of  the  brutal  Simon  after 
his  father's  removal  from  the  Temple,  the  child 
had  become  a  physical  and  mental  wreck.  The 
queen,  in  her  last  letter  to  her  sister  the  Prin- 
cess Elizabeth,  makes  pitiful  allusion  to  the  in- 
cident, begging  her  to  remember  what  he  must 
have  suffered  before  he  said  this ;  also  remind- 
ing her  how  children  may  be  taught  to  utter 


196         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

words  they  do  not  comprehend.  His  lesson, 
no  doubt,  had  been  learned  by  cruel  tortures; 
and,  rendered  half  imbecile,  it  was  recited  when 
the  time  came.  None  but  his  keeper  was  ever 
permitted  to  see  the  boy.  His  condition,  final 
illness,  and  death  are  shrouded  in  mystery. 
In  June,  1794,  eight  montlis  after  his  mother's 
execution,  it  was  announced  that  he  was  dead. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  prove  this  event  before 
a  court  of  justice.  There  were  no  witnesses 
whose  testimony  would  have  any  weight.  No 
one  was  permitted  to  see  the  child  who  was  put 
into  that  obscure  grave;  and  many  circum- 
stances give  rise  to  a  suspicion  that  the  boy, 
who  might  have  been  a  source  of  political  em- 
barrassment in  the  rehabilitation  of  France,  was. 
disposed  of  in  another  way — dropped  into  an 
obscurity  which  would  serve  as  well  as  death. 

There  was  a  surfeit  of  killing,  and  a  waning 
Revolution.  We  are  far  from  saying  that  such 
a  thing  happened.  But  ambitious  royalists 
might  have  thought  their  money  well  expended 
in  removing  the  son  of  the  murdered  king  from 
the  scene.  The  claim  of  the  American  dau- 
phin, Eleazer  Williams,  may  have  been  fanciful, 
or  even  false;  but  what  safer  and  more  effect- 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         197 

ual  plan  could  be  devised  than  to  drop  the  half- 
imbecile  heir  to  a  throne  into  the  heart  of  a 
tribe  of  Indians  in  an  American  wilderness? 

When  Louis  XVIII.  occupied  his  brother's 
throne,  in  18 14,  and  erected  over  the  dishon- 
ored graves  of  his  family  that  beautiful  Cha- 
pelle  Expiatoire,  he  also  gave  orders  for  masses 
to  be  said  for  the  repose  of  the  souls  of  his  mur- 
dered kindred,  whom  he  designated  by  name: 
Louis  XVI.,  king;  Marie  Antoinette,  queen, 
and  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  his  sister.  If  it  is 
true,  as  has  been  said,  that  the  name  of  the  dau- 
phin was  not  included  in  this  list,  it  is  a  most 
suggestive  omission.  Technically,  this  boy 
was  king  from  the  moment  of  his  father's 
death  until  his  own,  and  on  the  lists  of  sov- 
ereigns is  called  Louis  XVII.  Then  why  was 
there  no  mention  of  him  as  one  of  that  mar- 
tyred group? 

Twenty-two  of  the  Girondists  who  had 
helped  to  dethrone  the  king  on  that  loth  of 
August,  and  later  consented  to  his  death,  were 
now  facing  the  same  doom  to  which  they  had 
sent  him  only  six  months  before,  and  by  a 
strange  fatality  were  imder  the  same  roof  with 
the  queen.    Only  a  few  feet,  and  two  thin  par* 


198         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

titions,  separated  them ;  and  in  her  cell  she  must 
have  heard  their  impassioned  voices  during 
that  dramatic  banquet,  the  last  night  of  their 
lives.  And  the  next  day  this  group  of  extraor- 
dinary men — men  singularly  gifted  and  fas- 
cinating— were  all  lying  in  one  tomb,  at  the 
side  of  Louis  XVI. 

Philip  Egalite,  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  was  to 
meet  his  Nemesis  also.  Brought  a  prisoner  to 
that  grim  resting-place,  he  occupied  the  adjoin- 
ing cell  to  that  which  had  been  the  queen's,  and, 
it  is  said,  had  assigned  to  him  the  wretched  cot 
she  no  longer  needed.  His  desperate  game  had 
failed.  No  elevation  would  come  to  him  out 
of  the  chaos  of  crime,  and  the  reward  for 
scheming  and  voting  for  the  death  of  his  cousin, 
the  king,  would  be  a  scaffold,  not  a  throne. 
His  name  had  been  upon  the  list  of  the  pro- 
scribed for  some  time ;  but  the  end  was  precipi- 
tated by  an  act  of  his  young  son,  Louis  Philippe, 
then  Duke  de  Chartres,  and  aide-de-camp  to 
Dumouriez,  who  was  defending  the  frontier 
from  an  invasion  of  Austrian  troops.  After 
the  execution  of  the  queen,  Dumouriez  refused 
longer  to  defend  France  from  an  invasion  the 
purpose  of  which  was  to  make  such  horrors  im- 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         I99 

possible.  He  laid  down  his  command,  and, 
with  his  aide,  Louis  Philippe,  joined  the  colony 
of  exiles  in  Belgium,  while  the  Austrian  troops 
were  in  full  march  upon  Paris  from  Verdun. 

This  was  treason — whether  justifiable  or  not 
this  is  not  the  place  to  discuss. 

Philip  Egalite  knew  that  he  no  longer  had  the 
confidence  of  the  leaders,  and  that  they  also 
knew  that  he  was  an  aristocrat  in  disguise. 
So  when  this  defection  of  Dumouriez  came, 
and  was  shared  by  his  own  son,  he  tried  to  get 
out  of  the  counti-y.  He  was  arrested  at  Mar- 
seilles, brought  to  the  Conciergerie,  that  half- 
way house  to  the  scaffold,  and  was  soon  follow- 
ing in  the  footsteps  of  his  king  and  queen, 
through  the  Rue  St.  Honore,  passing  his  own 
Palais  Royal  on  his  way  to  the  Place  de  la 
Revolution. 

The  Revolution,  beginning  with  a  patriotic 
assembly,  in  a  measure  sane,  had  made  a  rapid 
descent,  first  falling  apart  into  Girondist  and 
Jacobin,  moderate  and  extremist,  the  Giron- 
dist with  a  shudder  consenting  to  the  execution 
of  the  king.  Then,  the  power  passing  to  a  so- 
called  "  Committee  of  Public  Safety  "  and  a 
Triumvirate,  in  order  to  sweep  away  the  ob- 


200         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

structive  Girondist ;  and  then  an  untrammelled 
Terror,  in  the  hands  of  three,  and,  finally,  one. 
Such  had  been  its  mad  course.  But  with  the 
death  of  the  king  and  queen  the  madness  had 
reached  its  height,  and  a  revulsion  of  feeling 
set  in.  There  was  a  surfeit  of  blood,  and  an 
awakening  sense  of  horror,  which  turned  upon 
the  instigators.  Danton  fell,  and  finally,  when 
amid  cries  of  "  Death  to  the  tyrant !  "  Robes- 
pierre was  dragged  wounded  and  shivering  to 
the  fate  he  had  brought  upon  so  many  thou- 
sands, the  drama  which  had  opened  at  the 
Bastille  was  fittingly  closed. 

The  great  battle  for  human  liberty  had  been 
fought  and  won.  Religious  freedom  and  po- 
litical freedom  were  identical  in  principle.  The 
right  of  the  human  conscience,  proclaimed  by 
Luther  in  15 17,  had  in  1793  only  expanded 
into  the  large  conception  of  all  the  inherent 
rights  of  the  individual. 

It  had  taken  centuries  for  English  persist- 
ence to  accomplish  what  France,  with  such  ap- 
palling violence,  had  done  in  as  many  years. 
It  had  been  a  furious  outburst  of  pent-up  force; 
but  the  work  had  been  thorough.  Not  a  germ 
of  tyranny  remained.     The  incrustations  of  a 


A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.  20I 

thousand  years  were  not  alone  broken,  but  pul- 
verized ;  the  privileged  classes  were  swept  away, 
and  their  vast  estates,  two-thirds  of  the  terri- 
tory of  France,  ready  to  be  distributed  among 
the  rightful  owners  of  the  soil,  those  who  by 
toil  and  industry  could  win  them.  France  was 
as  new  as  if  she  had  no  history.  There  was 
ample  opportunity  for  her  people  now.  What 
would  they  do  with  it  ? 

What  would  they  build  upon  the  ruins  of 
their  ancient  despotism?  What  would  be  the 
starting-point  for  such  a  task — every  connect- 
ing link  with  an  historic  past  broken,  and  the 
armies  of  an  indignant  Europe  pressing  in  upon 
every  side  ?  Could  they  ever  wipe  out  the  stain 
which  had  made  them  odious  in  the  sight  of 
Christendom?  Would  they  ever  be  forgiven 
for  disgracing  the  name  of  Liberty  ? 

It  was  the  power  and  genius  of  a  single  man 
which  was  going  to  make  the  world  forget  her 
disgrace,  and  cover  France  with  a  mantle  more 
glorious  than  she  had  ever  worn. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

The  Revolution  over,  France,  sitting  among 
the  wreckage  of  the  past,  found  herself  dis- 
graced, discredited,  and  at  war  with  all  of 
Europe.  Austria,  naturally  the  leader  in  an 
effort  to  stop  the  atrocities  which  threatened  a 
daughter  of  her  own  royal  house,  had  been 
joined  finally  by  England,  Holland,  Spain,  and 
even  Portugal  and  Tuscany,  these  all  being  im- 
pelled, not  by  the  personal  feeling  which  actu- 
ated Austria,  but  by  alarm  for  their  own  safety. 
This  revolutionary  movement  was  a  moral  and 
political  plague  spot  which  must  be  stamped 
out,  or  there  would  be  anarchy  in  every  king- 
dom in  Europe. 

It  was  the  difficulty  in  recruiting  troops  to 
fight  this  coalition  which  had  embarrassed  and 
finally  broken  the  power  of  the  revolutionary 
government.  If  the  states  of  Europe  had 
really  acted  in  concert,  the  life  of  the  new  re- 
public would  have  been   brief.     But  Austria 


A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.  203 

was  jealous  of  Prussia,  and  Prussia  afraid  of 
the  friendship  which  was  forming  between 
Austria  and  England,  and  Catharine,  the  em- 
press of  Russia,  keeping  all  uncertain  about  her 
designs  upon  Poland — with  the  result  that  the 
war  upon  France  was  conducted  in  a  desultory 
and  ineffectual  manner. 

In  the  organization  of  the  new  French  repub- 
lic, the  executive  power  was  vested  in  a  Direc- 
tory, composed  of  five  members,  chosen  by  two 
houses  of  legislature. 

A  disagreement  over  some  details  of  the  new 
constitution  led  to  a  heated  quarrel,  and  this 
to  an  insurrection  in  Paris,  October  5,  1795, 
which  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  a  young  ofhcer 
who  had  acquired  distinction  at  Toulon,  was 
summoned  to  quell.  The  vigor  and  the  success 
with  which  the  young  leader  used  his  cannon 
in  the  streets  of  Paris  struck  precisely  the  right 
note  at  the  right  moment.  Law  and  order  were 
established.  A  delighted  Directory  yielded  at 
once  to  the  suggestion  of  a  campaign  against 
Austria  which  should  be  conducted  in  Italy,  in 
combination  with  an  advance  upon  Vienna 
from  the  Rhine. 

With  the  instinct  of  genius.  Napoleon  Bona- 


204         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

parte  saw  the  path  to  power.  The  air  was 
vibrating  with  the  word  Liberty.  If  he  would 
capture  France — which  was  what  he  intended 
to  do — ^Iie  must  move  along  the  line  of  political 
freedom.  The  note  to  be  struck  was  the  lib- 
eration of  the  oppressed.  Where  would  he 
find  chains  more  galling,  more  unnatural,  than 
in  Italy,  held  by  the  iron  hand  of  Austria? 
And  was  not  Austria  the  leader  of  the  coalition 
against  France? 

Without  money  or  supplies,  and  with  an  un- 
clothed army,  he  obeyed  the  inspiration,  auda- 
ciously planning  to  make  the  invaded  country 
pay  the  expenses  of  the  war  waged  against  it. 
Pointing  to  the  Italian  cities,  he  said  to  his 
soldiers :  *'  There  is  your  reward.  It  is  rich 
and  ample,  but  you  must  conquer  it !  "  Like 
Caesar,  he  knew  how,  in  words  brief  and  con- 
cise, to  address  his  followers,  and  to  inspire  en- 
thusiasm as  few  have  ever  done  before  or  since. 
He  also  knew  how  to  confound  the  enemy  with 
new  and  unexpected  methods  which  made  un- 
availing all  which  military  science  and  experi- 
ence had  taught  them. 

With  the  suddenness  of  a  tornado  he  swept 
down  upon  the  plains  of  Lombardy.     The  bat- 


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A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCK         20$ 

ties  of  Lodi,  Areola,  Rivoli,  were  won,  and  in 
ten  months  Napoleon  was  master  of  Italy.  By 
the  treaty  of  Campo  Formio,  October  17,  1797, 
northern  Italy  was  divided  into  four  republics, 
wath  their  capitals  respectively  at  Milan,  Genoa, 
Bologna,  and  Rome.  And  in  return  for  her 
acquiescence  in  this  redistribution  of  her  Ital- 
ian territory,  Austria  received  Venice.  After 
fourteen  centuries  of  independence,  Venetia,  the 
queen  of  the  Adriatic,  was  in  chains ! 

Not  satisfied  with  this.  Napoleon  intended 
that  Paris  should  wear  the  jewels  which  had 
adorned  the  fair  Italian  cities.  The  people 
whose  chains  he  had  come  to  break  were  at 
once  required  to  surrender  money,  jewels,  plate, 
horses,  equipments,  besides  their  choicest  art 
collections  and  rarest  manuscripts.  In  a  pri- 
vate letter  to  a  member  of  the  Directory  he 
wrote :  "  I  shall  send  you  twenty  pictures  by 
some  of  the  first  masters,  including  Correggio 
and  Michael  Angelo."  A  later  letter  said: 
■**  Join  all  these  to  what  will  be  sent  from  Rome, 
and  we  shall  have  all  that  is  beautiful  in  Italy, 
except  a  small  number  of  objects  in  Turin  and 
Naples."  Pius  VI.,  without  a  protest,  surren- 
dered   his    millions    of    francs,    and    ancient 


2o6  A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

bronzes,  costly  pictures,  and  priceless  manu- 
scripts. 

Austria  had  lost  fourteen  battles,  and  all  her 
Italian  possessions  were  grouped  together  into 
a  Cisalpine  republic !  Another  Helvetic  repub- 
lic was  set  up  in  Switzerland,  and  still  another 
republic  created  in  Holland  under  a  French 
protectorate. 

In  other  words,  this  man  had  accomplished 
in  Italy  precisely  what  he  was  going  to  accom- 
plish later  in  Germany.  He  had  broken  down 
the  lingering  traces  of  mediaevalism,  and  pre- 
pared the  soil  for  a  new  order  of  things. 

The  peace  of  Campo  Formio  was  the  most 
glorious  ever  made  for  France.  The  river 
Rhine  was  at  last  recognized  as  her  frontier, 
thus  placing  Belgium  within  the  lines  of  the 
republic.  Napoleon  had  captured  not  alone 
Italy,  but  France  herself?  What  might  she 
not  accomplish  with  such  a  leader?  The 
delighted  Directory  discussed  the  invasion  of 
England.  Napoleon,  knowing  this  would  be 
premature,  dramatically  conceived  the  idea  of 
crippling  England  by  threatening  her  Asiatic 
possessions,  and  led  an  army  into  Egypt 
(1798).     Although  Nelson  destroyed  his  fleet, 


A    SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.  207 

he  still  maintained  the  arrogance  of  a  con- 
queror. 

No  king,  no  military  leader,  had  brought  as 
much  glory  to  France.  Du  Guesclin,  Turenne, 
Conde,  all  were  eclipsed.  And  so  were  Marl- 
borough and  Prince  Eugene.  What  would  not 
France  do  at  the  bidding  of  this  magician,  who 
by  a  single  sweep  of  his  wand  had  raised  her 
from  the  dust  of  humiliation  and  made  her  the 
leading  power  on  the  Continent! 

The  young  officer,  now  so  distinguished,  had 
married  in  the  early  part  of  his  career  the  widow 
of  M.  de  Beauharnais,  one  of  the  victims  of 
the  Reign  of  Terror.  During  his  absence  in 
Egypt,  the  Directorate,  and  the  Legislature,  and 
the  people  had  all  become  embroiled  in  dis- 
sensions. Things  were  falling  again  into 
chaos,  with  no  hand  to  hold  them  together. 
Discontent  was  rife,  and  men  were  asking  why 
the  one  man,  the  little  dark  man  who  knew  how 
to  do  and  to  compel  things,  and  to  maintain 
discipline,  why  he  was  sent  to  the  Nile  and  the 
Pyramids ! 

Josephine,  from  Paris,  kept  Napoleon  in- 
formed of  these  conditions.  So,  leaving  his 
army  in  cliarge  of  Kleber,  he  unexpectedly  re- 


3o8         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

turned.  He  knew  what  he  was  going  to  do; 
and  he  also  knew  he  could  depend  upon  the 
army  to  sustain  him.  By  political  moves  as 
adroit  and  unexpected  as  his  tactics  on  the  field, 
the  Directorate  was  swept  out  of  existence,  and 
Napoleon  was  first  consul  of  France. 

It  was  a  long  step  backward.  The  pendu- 
lum was  returning  once  more  toward  a  strong 
executive,  and  to  centralization.  From  this 
moment,  until  he  was  a  prisoner  in  the  hands 
of  the  English,  Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  sole 
master  of  France. 

The  early  simplicity  of  the  republic  was  dis- 
appearing. The  receptions  of  the  first  consul 
at  the  Tuileries  began  to  recall  the  days  at  Ver- 
sailles. Josephine,  fascinating,  and  perfect  in 
the  art  of  dress,  knew  well  how  to  maintain  the 
splendor  of  her  new  court;  as  also  did  Bona- 
parte's sisters,  with  their  beauty  and  their  brill- 
iant talents.  But  outside  of  France,  and  across 
the  channel,  the  consul  was  only  a  usurper,  and 
Louis  XVIII.  was  king — an  uncrowned  but 
legitimate  sovereign ! 

Perhaps  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  noth- 
ing in  Napoleon's  career  has  left  such  enduring 
traces,  and  so  permanently  influenced  civiliza- 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         209 

tion,  as  two  acts  performed  at  this  period :  the 
creation  of  that  monumental  work  of  genius  the 
codification  of  the  laws  of  France  and  the  sale 
of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States.  Spain  had 
ceded  this  large  territory  to  France  in  1763,  and 
Bonaparte  realizing  that  he  was  not  in  a  posi- 
tion to  hold  it  now,  if  attacked,  sold  it  to  the 
United  States  (1803),  in  order  to  keep  it  out 
of  the  hands  of  England. 

The  goal  to  which  things  were  tending  was 
realized  by  some.  A  conspiracy  against  the 
life  of  the  consul  was  discovered.  Napoleon 
suspected  it  to  have  originated  with  the  Bour- 
bons ;  and  the  death  of  the  young  Duke  d'En- 
ghien,  a  son  of  the  Prince  of  Conde,  without 
pity  or  justice,  was  intended  to  strike  with  ter- 
ror all  who  were  plotting  for  his  downfall.  The 
swiftness  with  which  it  was  done,  the  darkness 
under  the  walls  of  Vincennes,  the  lantern  od 
the  breast  of  the  victim,  and  the  file  of  soldiers 
at  midnight,  all  conspired  to  warn  conspirators 
of  the  fate  awaiting  them.  It  was  the  criti- 
cal moment  at  hand  which  turned  Bonaparte'3 
heart  to  steel. 

Only  a  few  day3  after  this  tragedy  at  Yin* 
cennes  a  proposition  was  made  in  the  Tribunate 


2IO         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

to  bestow  upon   the  first  consul  the  title  o£ 
hereditary  Emperor  of  the  French ! 

This  new  Charlemagne  did  not  go  to  the  pope 
to  be  crowned,  as  that  other  had  done  in  the 
year  800 ;  but  at  his  bidding  the  pope  came  to 
him.  And  when  on  the  2d  of  December,  1804, 
the  crown  of  France  was  placed  upon  his  head, 
the  great  drama  commenced  in  1789  had  ended. 
Rivers  of  blood  had  flowed  to  free  her  from 
despotism,  and  France  was  held  by  a  power 
more  despotic  than  that  of  Richelieu  or  of 
Louis  XIV. 

At  war  with  all  of  Europe,  Napoleon  swiftly 
unfolded  his  great  plan  not  only  to  conquer,  but 
to  demolish — not  one  state,  but  all.  He  was 
going  to  create  an  empire  out  of  a  federation  of 
European  kingdoms  all  held  in  his  own  hand, 
and  to  tear  in  pieces  the  old  map  of  Europe, 
precisely  as  he  had  the  map  of  Italy.  He  was 
going  to  break  down  the  old  historic  divisions 
and  landmarks,  and  create  new,  as  he  had  cre- 
ated a  kingdom  of  Italy  out  of  Italian  repub- 
lics. So,  while  he  was  fighting  a  combined 
Europe,  Bavaria,  Wiirtemberg,  and  Saxony 
had  become  kingdoms,  and  the  West  German 
States,  seventeen  in  number,  were  all  merged 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         211 

in  a  Confederation  of  tlie  Rhine,  "  the  Rhein- 
bund,"  under  a  French  Protectorate. 

Then  Austria  felt  the  weight  of  his  hand. 
Francis  Joseph  wore  the  double  crown  created 
by  Charlemagne  a  thousand  years  before,  and 
was  Emperor  of  Rome  as  well  as  of  Germany. 
It  had  become  an  empty  title;  but  it  was  the 
sacred  tradition  of  a  Holy  Roman  Empire,  the 
empire  which  had  dominated  the  world  during 
the  Middle  Ages,  and  while  Europe  was  com- 
ing into  form.  Napoleon  was  ploughing  deep 
into  the  soil  of  the  past  when  he  told  Francis 
Joseph  he  must  drop  the  title  of  Emperor  of 
Rome!  And  it  is  a  startling  indication  of  his 
power  that  the  emperor  unresistingly  obeyed; 
the  logical  meaning,  of  course,  being  that  he, 
already  King  of  Italy,  was  the  successor  to 
Charlemagne  and  the  head  of  a  new  Roman 
Empire. 

England,  never  having  felt  the  touch  of  this 
insolent  conqueror  upon  her  own  soil,  was  still 
the  bitterest  of  all  in  the  coalition,  and  was  more 
indignant  over  the  humiliation  of  Germany 
than  she  seemed  to  be  herself.  Prussia,  at  last 
reluctantly  opposing  him,  was  defeated  at  Jena, 
1806,  a  time  during  which  the  beautiful  Queen 


212         A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

Louise  was  the  heroine^  and  the  one  brave 
enough  to  defy  him ;  and  then  the  peace  of  Til- 
sit, 1807,  completed  the  humiliation  of  the  king- 
dom created  by  the  great  elector. 

It  would  seem  that  the  people  as  well  as 
the  armies  of  Germany  were  captured  by  this 
man,  when  we  hear  that  ninety  German  authors 
dedicated  their  books  to  him,  a  servile  press 
praised  him,  and  one  of  Beethoven's  greatest 
sonatas  was  inspired  by  him.  But  a  man  so 
colossal  and  dazzling  could  only  be  accurately 
measured  at  a  distance.  Even  yet  we  are  too 
near  to  him  for  that,  and  the  world  has  not 
yet  come  to  an  agreement  concerning  him,  any 
more  than  as  to  the  true  analysis  of  the  char- 
acter of  Hamlet. 

There  was  now  scarcely  an  uncrowned  head 
in  Napoleon's  family.  His  brother  Louis,  who 
had  married  his  step-daughter,  Hortense  Beau- 
hamais,  was  king  of  Holland.  His  brother- 
in-law  Murat  he  made  king  of  Naples ;  Eugene 
Beauharnais,  his  step-son,  viceroy  of  Italy;  his 
brother  Jerome,  King  of  Westphalia ;  and  then 
his  brother  Joseph  was  placed  upon  the  throne 
of  Spain,  from  which  an  indignant  people  drove 
him  ingloriously  away. 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         213 

In  an  hour's  interview  with  Alexander,  Em- 
peror of  Russia,  Napoleon  had  by  the  magic  of 
superiority  secured  that  emperor's  friendship 
and  co-operation  in  his  plans  against  England. 
All  this  excellent  man  was  fighting  for  was  the 
peace  of  Europe!  And  he  disclosed  to  Alex- 
ander his  plan  that  they  two  should  be  the  eter- 
nal custodians  of  that  peace ;  which  was  to  be 
secured  by  restraining  the  arrogance  of  Eng- 
land, and  that  was  to  be  done  by  ruining  the 
commercial  prosperity  of  that  nation  of  shop- 
keepers. There  was  to  be  organized  a  conti- 
nental blockade  against  England.  Europe  was 
to  be  forbidden  to  trade  with  that  country. 

A  plan  was  forming  in  the  mind  of  Napo- 
leon which  was  destined  as  the  turning-point 
in  his  astonishing  career.  It  was  of  vast  im- 
portance to  him  that  he  should  have  an  heir  to 
the  great  inheritance  he  was  creating.  By 
repudiating  Josephine,  and  marrying  the  daugh- 
ter of  Francis  Joseph,  there  might  be  an  heir 
who  would  also  be  the  legitimate  descendant  of 
the  Csesars ;  thus  immensely  fortifying  the  em- 
pire after  his  own  death. 

When  this  thought  took  possession  of  his 
mind,  the  psychological  moment  had  arrived. 


214         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

The  tide  had  turned  toward  disaster.  The 
marriage  with  Maria  Louisa  took  place  at  Paris 
in  1810.  The  marriage  of  Napoleon  with  a 
Hapsburg  was  not  pleasing  to  the  French  peo- 
ple, who  took  pride  in  the  simple  origin  of 
their  emperor  and  empress.  This  hero  of  Ma- 
rengo, and  Austerlitz,  and  Jena,  and  Wagram, 
the  man  before  whom  Europe  trembled,  was  he 
not,  after  all,  only  a  crowned  citizen?  And 
was  this  not  a  triumph  for  the  revolutionary 
principle  which  offset  the  existence  of  an  em- 
pire, as  its  final  result? 

Alexander  had  broken  away  from  his  agree- 
ment and  his  friendship  with  the  emperor,  and 
had  joined  the  allies.  So  in  1812  the  long- 
contemplated  invasion  of  Russia  began.  Of 
the  678,000  souls  recruited  cliiefly  from  con- 
quered states,  only  80,000  would  ever  return. 
Never  before  had  Napoleon  fought  the  ele- 
ments, and  never  before  met  overwhelming  de- 
feat !  The  flames  at  Moscow,  followed  by  the 
arctic  cold,  converted  the  campaign  into  a  vast 
tragedy. 

With  indomitable  courage  another  grand 
army  had  filled  the  vacant  places,  and  was  put- 
ting down  a  great  uprising  in  Germany.     But 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         215 

his  Star  was  waning.  An  overwhelming  de- 
feat at  Leipsic  was  followed  by  a  march  upon 
Paris.  And  in  the  spring  of  1814,  Alexander, 
the  young  Russian  emperor,  the  friend  who  was 
to  aid  him  in  securing  an  eternal  peace  for 
Europe,  was  dictating  the  terms  of  surrender 
in  Paris. 

Within  a  week  Napoleon  had  abdicated. 
The  title  of  emperor  he  was  permitted  to  re- 
tain, buC  the  empire  which  he  was  to  leave  to 
the  infant  son  of  Maria  Louisa,  now  two  years 
old,  had  shrunk  to  the  little  island  of  Elba,  on 
the  west  coast  of  Italy ! 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

The  allied  powers  named  Louis  XVIII. ,  the 
brother  of  Louis  XVI.,  for  the  vacant  throne, 
who  promised  the  people  to  reign  under  a  con- 
stitutional government. 

The  man  who  had  deserted  his  brother  in 
his  extremity,  a  man  who  represented  nothing 
— not  loyalty  to  the  past,  nor  sympathy  with  a 
single  aspiration  of  the  present — was  king. 
As  he  passed  under  triumphal  arches  on  the 
way  to  the  Tuileries,  there  was  sitting  beside 
him  a  sad,  pale-faced  woman;  this  was  the 
Duchesse  d'Angouleme,  the  daughter  of  Louis 
XVI.,  the  little  girl  who  was  prisoner  in  the 
Temple  twenty  years  before.  What  must  she 
have  felt  and  thought  as  she  passed  the  very 
spot  where  had  stood  the  scaffold  in  1793  ! 

Almost  the  first  act  of  Louis  XVIII.  was  the 

removal  of  the  mutilated  remains  of  the  king 

and  queen  and  his  sister  Elizabeth  to  the  royal 

vault  in  the  Church  of  St.  Denis.     He  then 

216 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         217 

gave  orders  for  a  ChapcUc  Expiatoire  to  be 
erected  over  the  grave  where  they  had  been 
lying  for  two  decades,  and  for  masses  to  be 
said  for  the  repose  of  the  souls  of  his  murdered 
relatives.  Paris  was  full  of  returning  royal- 
ists. Banished  exiles  with  grand  old  names, 
who  had  been  earning  a  scanty  living  by  teach- 
ing French  and  dancing  in  Vienna,  London, 
and  even  in  New  York,  were  hastening  to  Paris 
for  a  joyful  Restoration;  and  Louis  XVIIL, 
while  Russian  and  Austrian  troops  guarded 
him  on  the  streets  of  his  own  capital,  was  freely 
talking  about  ruling  by  divine  right! 

That  king  was  reigning  under  a  liberal  char- 
ter (as  the  new  constitution  was  called) — a 
charter  which  guaranteed  almost  as  much  per- 
sonal liberty  as  the  one  obtained  in  England 
from  King  John  in  121 5;  and  the  palpable  ab- 
surdity of  supposing  that  he  and  his  supporters 
might  at  the  same  time  revive  and  maintain 
Bourbon  traditions,  as  if  there  had  been  no 
Revolution,  was  at  least  not  an  indication  of 
much  sagacity. 

But  there  was  a  very  smooth  surface.  The 
tricolor  had  disappeared.  Napoleon's  gen- 
erals had  gone  unresistingly  over  to  the  Bour- 


2i8         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

bons.  Talleyrand  adapted  himself  as  quickly 
to  the  new  regime  as  he  had  to  the  Napoleonic ; 
was  witty  at  the  expense  of  the  empire  and  the 
emperor,  who,  as  he  said,  "  was  not  even  a 
Frenchman  " ;  and  was  as  crafty  and  as  useful 
an  instrument  for  the  new  ruler  as  he  had  been 
for  the  pre-existing-  one. 

But  something  was  happening  under  the  sur- 
face. While  the  plenipotentiaries  were  busy 
over  their  task  of  restoring  boundaries  in 
Europe,  and  the  other  restoration  was  going 
on  pleasantly  in  Paris,  a  rumor  came  that  Na- 
poleon was  in  Lyons.  A  regiment  was  at  once 
despatched  to  drive  him  back;  and  Marshal 
Ney,  "  the  bravest  of  the  brave,"  was  sent  with 
orders  to  arrest  him. 

The  next  news  that  came  to  Paris  was  that 
the  troops  were  frantically  shouting  "  Vive 
I'empereur! "  and  Ney  was  embracing  his  be- 
loved commander  and  pledging  his  sword  in  his 
service. 

At  midnight  the  king  left  the  Tuileries  for 
the  Flemish  frontier,  and  before  the  dawn  Na- 
poleon was  in  his  Palace  of  Fontainebleau 
(March  20th),  which  he  had  left  exactly  eleven 
months  before.     The  night  after  the  departure 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         219 

of  the  king  there  suddenly  appeared  Hghts  pass- 
ing swiftly  over  the  Pont  de  la  Concorde;  then 
came  the  tramp  of  horses'  feet,  and  a  carriage 
attended  on  each  side  by  cavalry  with  drawn 
swords.  The  carriage  stopped  at  the  first  en- 
trance to  the  garden  of  the  Tuileries,  and  a 
small  man  with  a  dark,  determined  face  was 
borne  into  the  palace  the  Bourbon  had   just 

deserted. 

There  was  consternation  in  the  Council 
Chamber  in  London  when  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington entered  and  announced  that  Napoleon 
was  in  Paris,  and  all  must  be  done  over  again ! 
Immediate  preparations  were  made  for  a 
renewal  of  the  war.  It  was  easy  to  find  men 
to  fight  the  emperor's  battles.  All  France  was 
at  his  feet. 

The  decisive  moment  was  at  hand.  Napo- 
leon had  crossed  into  the  Netherlands,  and 
Wellington  was  waiting  to  meet  him. 

The  struggle  at  Waterloo  had  lasted  many 
hours.  The  result,  so  big  with  fate,  was  trem- 
bling in  the  balance,  when  suddenly  the  boom- 
ing of  Prussian  gims  was  heard,  and  Welling- 
ton was  re-enforced  by  Blucher.  This  was  the 
end.     The  French   were  defeated    (June   18, 


220         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

1815).  Napoleon  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
EngHsh,  and  was  to  be  carried  a  Hfe-prisoner 
to  the  island  of  St.  Helena. 

Louis  XVIII.,  who  had  been  waiting  at 
Ghent,  immediately  returned  to  the  Tuileries, 
and  to  his  foolish  task  of  posing  as  a  liberal 
king  to  his  people,  and  as  a  reactionary  one  to 
his  royalist  adherents.  The  country  was  full 
of  disappointed,  imbittered  imperialists,  and  of 
angry  and  revengeful  royalists.  The  Cham- 
ber of  Peers  immediately  issued  a  decree  for  the 
perpetual  banishment  of  the  family  of  Bona- 
parte from  French  soil ;  the  extremists  demand- 
ing that  the  families  of  the  men  who  had  con- 
sented to  the  death  of  Louis  XVI.  be  included 
in  the  decree.  Sentence  of  death  was  passed 
upon  Marshal  Ney,  as  a  traitor  to  France. 
Some  might  have  said  that  a  greater  traitor 
was  at  the  Tuileries;  but  the  most  picturesque 
in  that  heroic  group  of  Napoleon's  marshals 
was  shot  to  death. 

There  was,  in  fact,  a  determined  purpose  to 
undo  all  the  work  of  the  Revolution ;  to  restore 
the  supremacy  and  the  property  of  the  Church, 
and  the  power  of  the  nobility.  In  the  mean- 
time^ the  people,  perfectly  aware  that  the  re- 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 


>.?.! 


turned  exiles  were  impoverished,  were  paying 
taxes  to  maintain  foreign  troops  which  were 
in  France  for  the  sole  purpose  of  enablmg  the 
king's  government  to  accomplish  these  thmgs! 
Here  was  material  enough  for  discord  m  a 
troubled  reign  which  lasted  nine  years.  Louis 
XVIII.  died  September  i6,  1824;  and  the 
Count  of  Artois,  the  brother  of  two  kings,  was 
proclaimed  Charles  X.  of  France. 

If  there  had  been  any  doubt  about  the  real 
sentiments  of  Louis  XVIIL,  it  must  have  been 
dispelled  by  the  last  act  of  his  reign,  when,  at 
the  bidding  of  the  Holy  Alliance,  he  sent 
French  soldiers  to  put  down  the  Spanish  lib- 
erals in  their  fight  for  a  constitution. 

But  Charles  X.  did  not  intend  to  assume  the 
thin  mask  worn  by  his  brother.  He  had 
marked  out  a  different  course.  All  disguise 
was  to  be  thrown  aside  in  a  Bourbon  reign  of 
the  ante-revolutionary  sort.  The  press  was 
strictly  censored,  the  charter  altered,  the  law 
of  primogeniture  restored;  and  when  saluted 
on  the  streets  of  Paris  by  cries  of  "  Give  us 
back  our  charter  1"  the  answer  made  to  his 
people  by  this  infatuated  man  was,  "  I  am  here 
to  receive  homage,  not  counsel." 


222         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

One  wonders  that  a  brother  of  Louis  XVI.,; 
one  who  had  been  a  fugitive  from  a  Paris  mob 
in  1789 — if  he  had  a  memory — dared  to  exas- 
perate the  people  of  France. 

On  the  29th  of  July  a  revolt  had  become  a 
Revolution,  and  once  more  the  Marquis  de 
Lafayette  was  in  charge  of  the  municipal  troops, 
which  assembled  at  St.  Cloud  and  other  defen- 
sive points. 

In  vain  did  Charles  protest  that  he  would 
revoke  every  offensive  ordinance,  and  restore 
the  charter.     It  was  too  late. 

Louis  Philippe,  Duke  of  Orleans,  was  ap- 
pointed lieutenant-general  of  the  kingdom. 
When  he  appeared  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville 
wearing  the  tricolor,  his  future  was  already 
assured. 

There  was  only  one  thing  left  now  for 
Charles  to  do :  he  formally  abdicated,  and  signed 
the  paper  authorizing  the  appointment  of  his 
cousin  to  the  position  of  lieutenant-general; 
and  ten  days  later,  Louis  Philippe,  son  of 
Philippe  Egalite,  occupied  the  throne  he  left. 

The  note  struck  by  this  new  king  was  the 
absolute  surrender  of  the  principle  of  divine 
right.     He  was  a   "citizen  king";  his  title 


3 
■-5 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         223 

being  bestowed  not  by  a  divine  hand,  but  by 
the  people,  whose  voice  was  the  voice  of  God ! 
The  title  itself  bore  .witness  to  a  new  order 
of  things.  Louis  Phihppe  was  not  King  of 
France,  but  "  King  of  the  French."  King  of 
France  carried  with  it  the  old  feudal  idea  of 
proprietorship  and  sovereignty;  while  a  King 
of  the  French  was  merely  a  leader  of  the  people, 
not  the  owner  of  their  soil.  The  charter  and 
all  existing  conditions  were  modified  to  con- 
form to  this  ideal,  and  on  the  9th  of  August  the 
reign  of  the  constitutional  king  began. 

It  was  the  middle  class  in  France  which  sup- 
ported this  reign;  the  class  below  that  would 
never  forget  that  he  was,  after  all,  a  Bourbon 
and  a  king;  while  the  two  classes  above,  both 
royalists  and  imperialists,  were  unfriendly,  one 
regarding  him  as  a  usurper  on  the  throne  of 
the  legitimate  king,  and  the  other  as  a  weak- 
ling unfit  to  occupy  the  throne  of  Napoleon.      ..' 

When  Charles  X.  tried  to  secure  the  banish- 
ment of  the  families  of  the  men  who  had  voted 
for  the  death  of  Louis  XVL,  he  may  have  had 
in  mind  his  cousin,  the  son  of  Philippe  Egalite, 
the  wickedest  and  most  despicable  of  the  regi- 
cides.    Whatever  his   father  had  been,  Louis 


224         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

Philippe  was  far  from  being  a  wicked  man. 
Whether  teaching  school  in  Switzerland,  or 
giving  French  lessons  in  America,  he  was  the 
kindest-hearted  and  most  inoffensive  of  gentle- 
men. The  only  trouble  with  this  reign  was 
that  it  was  not  heroic.  The  most  emotional 
and  romantic  people  in  Europe  had  a  common- 
place king.  Only  once  was  there  a  throb  of 
genuine  enthusiasm  during  the  eighteen  years 
of  his  occupancy  of  the  throne,  and  that  was 
when  the  remains  of  their  adored  Napoleon 
were  brought  from  St.  Helena  and  placed  in 
that  magnificent  tomb  in  the  Hotel  des  In- 
valides  by  order  of  the  king,  who  sent  his  son, 
the  Prince  de  Joinville,  to  bring  this  gift  to 
the  people.  The  act  was  gracious,  but  it  was 
also  hazardous.  Perhaps  the  king  did  not 
know  how  slight  was  his  hold  upon  this  im- 
aginative people,  nor  the  possible  effect  of  con- 
trast. 

Under  the  new  order  of  things  in  a  consti- 
tutional monarchy  the  king  does  not  govern, 
he  reigns.  He  was  chosen  by  the  people  as 
their  ornamental  figure-head.  But  what  if  he 
ceased  to  be  ornamental?  What  was  the  use 
of  a  king  who  in  eighteen  years  had  added  not 


A   SHORT  HISTORY   OF  FRANCE.         225 

a  single  ray  of  glory  to  the  national  name,  but 
who  was  using  his  high  position  to  increase  his 
enormous  private  fortune,  and  incessantly  beg- 
ging an  impoverished  country  for  benefits  and 
emoluments  for  five  sons? 

An  excellent  father,  truly,  though  a  short- 
sighted one.  His  power  had  no  roots.  The 
cutting  from  the  Orleans  tree  had  never  taken 
hold  upon  the  soil,  and  toppled  over  at  the  sound 
of  Lamartine's  voice  proclaiming  a  republic 
from  the  balcony  of  the  Hotel  de  Ville. 

When  invited  to  step  down  from  his  royal 
throne,  he  did  so  on  the  instant.  Never  did 
king  succumb  with  such  alacrity,  and  never 
did  retiring  royalty  look  less  imposing  than 
when  Louis  Philippe  was  in  hiding  at  Havre 
under  the  name  of  "  William  Smith,"  wait- 
ing for  safe  convoy  to  England,  without 
having  struck  one  blow  in  defence  of  his 
throne. 

But  three  terrible  words  had  floated  into  the 
open  windows  of  the  Tuileries.  With  the 
echoes  of  1792  still  sounding  in  his  ears,  "  Lib- 
erty," "  Equality,"  and  "  Fraternity,"  shouted 
in  the  streets  of  Paris,  had  not  a  pleasant 
sound ! 


226         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

Republicanism  was  an  abiding  sentiment  in 
France,  even  while  two  dull  Bourbon  kings 
were  stupidly  trying  to  turn  back  the  hands  on 
the  dial  of  time,  and  while  an  Orleans,  with 
more  supple  neck,  was  posing  as  a  popular  sov- 
ereign. During  all  this  tiresome  interlude  the 
real  fact  was  developing.  A  Republican  senti- 
ment which  had  existed  vaguely  in  the  air  was 
materializing,  consolidating,  into  a  more  and 
more  tangible  reality  in  the  minds  of  thinking 
men  and  patriots. 

The  ablest  men  in  the  country  stood  with 
plans  matured,  ready  to  meet  this  crisis.  A 
republic  was  proclaimed;  M.  de  Lamartine, 
Ledru-Rollin,  General  Cavaignac,  M.  Raspail, 
and  Louis  Napoleon  were  rival  candidates  for 
the  office  of  President. 

The  nephew  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  and  son 
of  Hortense,  was  only  known  as  the  perpetrator 
of  two  very  absurd  attempts  to  overthrow  the 
monarchy  under  Louis  Philippe.  But  since  the 
remains  of  the  great  emperor  had  been  returned 
to  France  by  England,  and  the  splendors  of  the 
past  placed  in  striking  contrast  with  a  dull, 
lustreless  present,  there  had  been  a  revival  of 
Napoleonic  memories  and  enthusiasm.     Here 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         227 

was  an  opportunity  to  unite  two  powerful  sen- 
timents in  one  man — a.  Napoleon  at  the  head  of 
republican  France  would  express  the  glory  of 
the  past  and  the  hope  of  the  future. 

The  magic  of  the  name  was  irresistible. 
Louis  Napoleon  was  elected  President  of  the 
second  Republic,  and  history  prepared  to  repeat 
itself. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

A  REVOLUTION  Scarcely  deserving  the  name 
had  made  France  a  second  time  a  republic. 
The  Second  French  Republic  was  the  creation 
of  no  particular  party.  In  fact,  it  seemed  to 
have  sprung  into  being  spontaneously  out  of 
the  soil  of  discontent. 

Its  immediate  cause  was  the  forbidding  of 
a  banquet  which  was  arranged  to  take  place 
in  Paris  on  Washington's  birthday,  February 
22d,  1848.  M.  Guizot,  who  had  succeeded  M. 
Thiers  as  head  of  the  ministry,  knowing  the 
political  purpose  for  which  it  was  intended, 
and  that  it  was  a  part  of  an  impending  demon- 
stration in  the  hands  of  dangerous  agitators, 
would  not  permit  the  banquet  to  take  place. 

This  was  the  signal  for  an  insurrection  Hy 
a  Paris  mob,  which  immediately  led  to  a  change 
in  the  form  of  government — a  crisis  which  the 
nation  had  taken  no  part  in  inaugurating. 
Revolution  had  been  written  in  French  his- 
228 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         229 

tory  in  very  large  Roman  capitals !  But  when 
the  smoke  from  this  smallest  of  revolutions 
had  curled  away,  there  stood  Louis  Napoleon 
—son  of  the  great  Bonaparte's  brother  Louis 
and  Hortense  de  Beauharnais— who  had  been 
elected  president  by  vote  of  the  nation. 

France    did    not    know    whether    she    was 
pleased  or  not.     Inexperienced  in  the  art  of 
government,  she  only  knew  that  she  wanted 
prosperity,   and  conditions  which  would  give 
opportunity  to  the  genius  of  her  people.    Any 
form  of  government,  or  any  ruler  who  could 
produce  these,  would  be  accepted.     She  had 
suffered  much,  and  was  bewildered  by  fears 
of  anarchy  on  one  side  and  of  tyranny  on  the 
other.     If  she  looked  doubtfully  at  this  dark, 
mysterious,  unmagnetic  man,  she  remembered 
it  was  only  for  four  years,  and  was  as  safe  as 
any  other  experiment ;  and  the  author  of  those 
two  ridiculous  attempts  at  a  restoration  of  the 
empire,  made  at  Strasbourg  and  at  Boulogne, 
was  not  a  man  to  be  feared. 

The  overthrow  of  monarchy  in  France  had, 
however,  been  taken  more  seriously  in  other 
countries  than  at  home.  It  had  kindled  anew 
the  fires   of   republicanism   all   over   Europe: 


230         A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

Kossuth  leading  a  revolution  in  Hungary,  and 
Garibaldi  and  Mazzini  in  Italy,  where  Victor 
Emmanuel,  the  young  King  of  Sardinia,  was 
at  the  moment  in  deadly  struggle  with  Austria 
over  the  possession  of  Milan,  and  dreaming  of 
the  day  when  a  united  Italy  would  be  freed 
from  the  Austrian  yoke. 

The  man  at  the  head  of  the  French  Republic 
was  surveying  all  these  conditions  with  an  in- 
telligence, strong  and  even  subtle,  of  which  no 
one  suspected  him,  and  viewed  with  satisfaction 
the  extinguishment  of  the  revolutionary  fires 
in  Europe,  which  had  been  kindled  by  the  one 
in  France  to  which  he  owed  his  own  elevation ! 

The  Assembly  soon  realized  that  in  this 
prince-president  it  had  no  automaton  to  deal 
with.  A  deep  antagonism  grew,  and  the  cun- 
ningly devised  issue  could  not  fail  to  secure 
popular  support  to  Louis  Napoleon.  When  an 
assembly  is  at  war  with  the  president  because 
it  desires  to  restrict  the  suffrage,  and  he  to 
make  it  universal,  can  anyone  doubt  the  re- 
sult? He  was  safe  in  appealing  to  the  people 
on  such  an  issue,  and  sure  of  being  sustained 
in  his  proclamation  dissolving  the  Assembly. 

The    Assembly    refused    to    be    dissolved. 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         231 

Then,  on  the  morning  of  December  2,  185 1, 
there  occurred  the  famous  coup  d'Stat,  when 
all  the  leading  members  were  arrested  at  their 
homes,  and  Louis  Napoleon,  relying  absolutely 
upon  their  suffrages,  stood  before  the  French 
nation,  with  a  constitution  already  prepared, 
which  actually  bestowed  imperial  powers  upon 
himself.  And  the  suddenness  and  the  auda- 
cious spirit  with  which  it  was  done  really 
pleased  a  people  wearied  by  incompetency  in 
their  rulers ;  and  so,  just  one  year  later,  in  1852, 
the  nation  ratified  the  coup  d'etat  by  voluntarily 
offering  to  Louis  Napoleon  the  title,  Napoleon 
IIL,  Emperor  of  the  French. 

His  Mephistophelian  face  did  not  look  as 
classic  under  the  laurel  wreath  as  had  his 
uncle's,  nor  had  his  work  the  blinding  splendor 
nor  the  fineness  of  texture  of  his  great  model. 
But  then,  an  imitation  never  has.  It  was  a 
marble  masterpiece,  done  in  plaster !  But  what 
a  clever  reproduction  it  was!  And  how,  by 
sheer  audacity,  it  compelled  recognition  and 
homage,  and  at  last  even  adulation  in  Europe ! 
— and  what  a  clever  stroke  it  was,  for  this 
heavy,  unsympathetic  man  to  bring  up  to  his 
throne  from   the  people  a   radiant   empress, 


232         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

who  would  capture  romantic  and  aesthetic 
France ! 

It  was  a  far  cry  from  cheap  lodgings  in  New 
York  to  a  seat  upon  the  imperial  throne  of 
France ;  but  human  ambition  is  not  easily  satis- 
fied. A  Pelion  always  rises  beyond  an  Ossa. 
It  was  not  enough  to  feel  that  he  had  re-estab- 
lished the  prosperity  and  prestige  of  France, 
that  fresh  glory  had  been  added  to  the  Napole- 
onic name.  Was  there  not,  after  all,  a  certain 
irritating  reserve  in  the  homage  paid  him? 
was  there  not  a  touch  of  condescension  in  the 
friendship  of  his  royal  neighbors?  And  had 
he  not  always  a  Mordecai  at  his  gate — while 
the  Faubourg  St.  Germain  stood  aloof  and  dis- 
dainful, smiling  at  his  brand-new  aristoc- 
racy? 

War  is  the  thing  to  give  solidity  to  empire 
and  to  reputation!  So,  when  invited  to  join 
the  allies  in  a  war  upon  Russia  in  defence  of 
Turkey,  Louis  Napoleon  accepted  with  alac- 
rity. France  had  no  interests  to  serve  in  the 
Crimean  War  (1854-56)  ;  but  the  newly  made 
emperor  did  not  underestimate  the  value  of 
this  recognition  by  his  royal  neighbors,  and 
French  soldiers  and  French  gun-boats  largely 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         233 

contributed  to  the  success  of  the  alHed  forces 
in  the  East. 

The  little  Kingdom  of  Sardinia,  as  the  nu- 
cleus of  the  new  Italy  was  called,  had  also  joined 
the  allies  in  this  war;  and  thus  a  slender  tie 
had  been  created  between  her  and  France  at  a 
time  when  Austria  was  savagely  attacking  her 
possessions  in  the  north  of  Italy. 

When  Napoleon  was  privately  sounded  by 
Count  Cavour,  he  named  as  his  price  for  inter- 
vention in  Italy  two  things:  the  cession  to 
France  of  the  Duchy  of  Savoy,  and  the  mar- 
riage of  his  cousin,  Jerome  Bonaparte,  with 
Clotilde,  the  young  daughter  of  Victor  Em- 
manuel. Savoy  was  the  ancestral  home  of  the 
king,  and  the  only  thing  he  loved  more  than 
Savoy  was  his  daughter  Clotilde,  just  fifteen 
years  old.  The  terms  were  hard,  but  they  were 
accepted. 

When  Louis  Napoleon  entered  Italy  with 
his  army  in  1859,  it  was  as  a  liberator — dra- 
matically declaring  that  he  came  to  "  give  Italy 
to  herself  " ;  that  she  was  to  be  "  free,  from  the 
Alps  to  the  Adriatic  "  !  The  victory  at  Magenta 
was  the  first  step  toward  the  realization  of  this 
glorious  promise;  quickly  followed  by  another 


234         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

at  Solferino.  Milan  was  restored,  Lombardy 
was  free,  and  as  the  news  sped  toward  the 
south  the  Austrian  dukes  of  Tuscany,  Modena, 
and  Parma  fled  in  dismay,  and  these  rejoicing 
states  offered  their  allegiance,  not  to  the  King 
of  Sardinia,  now,  but  to  the  King  of  Italy. 
There  were  only  two  more  states  to  be  freed, 
only  Venetia  and  the  papal  state  of  Rome,  and 
a  "  United  Italy  "  would  indeed  be  "  free  from 
the  Alps  to  the  Adriatic." 

Then  the  unexpected  happened.  The  dra- 
matic pledge  was  not  to  be  kept.  Venetia  was 
not  to  be  liberated.  The  Peace  of  Villafranca 
was  signed.  Austria  relinquished  Lombardy, 
but  was  permitted  to  retain  Venice.  Cavour, 
white  with  rage,  said,  "  Cut  loose  from  the 
traitor !  Refuse  Lombardy !  "  But  Victor 
Emmanuel  saw  more  clearly  the  path  of  wis- 
dom ;  and  so,  after  only  two  months  of  warfare. 
Napoleon  was  taking  back  to  France  Savoy  and 
Nice  as  trophies  of  his  brilliant  expedition. 

This  liberator  of  an  Italy  which  was  not 
liberated,  would  have  liked  to  restore  the  fleeing 
Austrian  dukes  to  their  respective  thrones  in 
Florence,  Modena,  and  Parma ;  but  he  did  what 
was  more  effectual  and  pleasing  to  the  enemies 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         235 

of  a  united  Italy:  he  garrisoned  Rome  with 
French  troops,  and  promised  Pius  IX.  any 
needed  protection  for  the  papal  throne. 

One  can  imagine  how  Garibaldi's  heart  was 
wrung  when  he  exclaimed,  "  That  man  has 
made  me  a  foreigner  in  my  own  city ! "  And 
so  might  have  said  the  king  himself. 

The  emperor  and  the  empire  had  been  im- 
mensely strengthened  by  the  Italian  campaign. 
France  was  rejoicing  in  a  phenomenal  pros- 
perity, reaching  every  part  of  the  land.  There 
was  a  new  France  and  a  new  Paris ;  new  boule- 
vards were  made,  gardens  and  walks  and  drives 
laid  out,  and  a  renewed  and  magnificent  city 
extended  from  the  Bois  de  Vincennes  on  one 
side  to  the  Bois  de  Bouk)gne  on  the  other. 
With  the  building  of  public  works  there  was 
occupation  for  all,  resulting  in  the  repose  for 
which  France  had  longed. 

The  Empress  Eugenie  was  beautiful  and 
gracious,  and  her  court  at  Versailles,  Fontaine- 
bleau,  and  the  Tuileries  compared  well  in  splen- 
dor with  the  traditions  of  the  past. 

The  emperor's  ambitions  began  to  take  on 
a  larger  form.  Under  the  auspices  of  the  gov- 
ernment, M.  Lesseps  commenced  a  transisth- 


236         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OP  FRANCE. 

mian  canal,  which  would  open  communication 
between  the  Mediterranean  Sea  and  the  Red 
Sea.  Then,  in  1862,  a  less  peaceful  scheme 
developed.  An  expedition  was  planned  to 
Mexico,  against  which  country  France  had  a 
small  grievance. 

The  United  States  was  at  this  time  fighting 
for  its  life  in  a  civil  war  of  gigantic  propor- 
tions. The  time  was  favorable  for  a  plan  con- 
ceived by  the  emperor  to  convert  Mexico  into 
an  empire  under  a  French  protectorate.  The 
principle  known  as  the  Monroe  Doctrine  for- 
bade the  establishment  of  any  European  power 
upon  the  Western  hemisphere;  but  the  United 
States  was  powerless  at  the  moment  to  defend 
it,  and  by  the  time  her  hands  were  free,  even  if 
she  were  not  disrupted,  an  Empire  of  Mexico 
would  be  established,  and  French  troops  could 
defend  it. 

In  a  few  months  the  French  army  was  in 
the  city  of  Mexico,  and  an  Austrian  prince  was 
proclaimed  emperor  of  a  Mexican  empire. 

This  ill-conceived  expedition  came  to  a  tragic 
and  untimely  end  in  1867.  The  civil  war  ended 
triumphantly  for  the  Union.  Napoleon,  real- 
izing that,  with  her  hands   free,   the  United 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         237 

States  would  fight  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  Monroe  Doctrine,  promptly  withdrew  the 
French  army  from  Mexico,  leaving  the  emperor 
to  his  fate.  A  republic  was  at  once  established, 
and  the  unfortunate  Maximilian  was  ordered 
to  be  shot 

The  finances  of  France  and  the  prestige  of 
the  emperor  had  both  suffered  from  this  miser- 
able attempt.  At  the  same  time,  something 
had  occurred  which  changed  the  entire  Euro- 
pean problem  in  a  way  most  distasteful  to 
Louis  Napoleon.  Prussia,  in  a  seven  weeks' 
war,  had  wrenched  herself  free  from  Austria 
( 1866).  Instead  of  a  disrupted  United  States, 
Avhich  he  had  expected,  there  was  a  dis- 
rupted German  Empire  which  he  did  not 
expect ! 

The  triumph  of  Protestant  Prussia  was  a 
triumph  of  liberalism.  It  meant  a  new  polit- 
ical power,  a  rearrangement  of  the  political 
problem  in  Europe,  with  Austria  and  despot- 
ism deposed.  This  was  a  distinct  blow  to  the 
Emperor's  policy,  and  to  the  headship  in  Eu- 
rope which  was  its  aim.  Then,  too,  the 
Crimea,  Magenta,  and  Solferino  looked  less 
brilliant  since  this  transforming  seven-weeks' 


238         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

war,  behind  which  stood  Bismarck  with  his 
wide-reaching  plans. 

His  own  magnificent  scheme  of  a  Hapsburg 
empire  in  Mexico  under  a  French  protectorate 
had  failed,  and  now  there  had  suddenly  arisen, 
as  if  out  of  the  ground,  a  new  political  Ger- 
many which  rivalled  France  in  strength.  The 
thing  to  do  was  to  recover  his  waning  prestige 
by  a  victory  over  Prussia. 

The  Empress  Eugenie,  devoutly  Catholic  in 
her  syinpathies,  saw,  in  the  ascendancy  of  Prot- 
estant Prussia  and  the  humiliation  of  Catholic 
Austria,  an  impious  blow  aimed  at  the  Catholic 
faith  in  Europe.  So,  as  the  emperor  wanted 
war,  and  the  empress  wanted  it,  it  only  re- 
mained to  make  France  want  it  too;  for  war  it 
was  to  be. 

Only  one  obstacle  existed :  there  was  nothing 
to  fight  about!  But  that  was  overcome.  In 
1870  the  heart  of  the  people  of  France  was 
fired  by  the  news  that  the  French  Ambassador 
had  been  publicly  insulted  by  the  kindly  old 
King  William.  There  had  been  some  diplo- 
matic friction  over  the  proposed  occupancy  of 
a  vacant  throne  in  Spain  by  a  member  of  the 
Hohenzollern  (Prussian)  family. 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         239 

Whether  true  or  false,  the  rumor  served  the 
desired  purpose.  France  was  in  a  blaze  of  in- 
dignation, and  war  was  declared. 

Not  a  shadow  of  doubt  existed  as  to  the  re- 
sult as  the  French  army  moved  away  bearing 
with  it  the  boy  prince  imperial,  that  he  might 
witness  the  triumph.  Not  only  would  the 
French  soldiers  carry  everything  before  them, 
but  the  southern  German  States  would  wel- 
come them  as  deliverers,  and  the  new  confeder- 
ation would  fall  in  pieces  in  their  hands.  The 
birthday  of  Napoleon  I.,  August  15th,  must  be 
celebrated  in  Berlin ! 

This  was  the  way  it  looked  In  France.  How- 
was  it  in  Germany  ?  There  was  no  North  and 
no  South  German.  Men  and  states  sprang 
together  as  a  unit,  under  the  command  of 
Moltke  and  the  Crown  Prince  Frederick 
William. 

The  French  troops  never  got  beyond  their 
own  frontier.  In  less  than  three  weeks  they 
were  fighting  for  their  existence  on  their  own 
soil.  In  less  than  a  month  the  French  emperor 
was  a  prisoner,  and  in  seven  weeks  his  empire 
had  ceased  to  exist. 

The  surrender  of  Metz,  August  4th,  and  of 


240         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

Sedan,  September  2d,  were  monumental  dis- 
asters. With  the  news  of  the  latter,  and  of 
the  capture  of  the  emperor,  the  Assembly  im- 
mediately declared  the  empire  at  an  end,  and 
proclaimed  a  third  republic  in  France. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  German 
troops  were  marching  on  Paris.  Fortifications 
were  rapidly  thrown  about  the  city,  and  the 
siege,  which  was  to  last  four  months,  had  com- 
menced. 

The  capitulation,  which  was  inevitable  from 
the  first,  took  place  in  January,  1871.  The 
terms  of  peace  offered  by  the  Germans  were 
accepted,  including  the  loss  of  Alsace  and  Lor- 
raine, and  an  enormous  war  indemnity. 

The  Germans  were  in  Paris,  and  King  Will- 
iam, the  Crown  Prince  (Unser  Fritz),  Bis- 
marck, and  Von  Moltke  were  quartered  at  Ver- 
sailles; and  in  that  place,  saturated  with  his- 
toric memories,  there  was  enacted  a  strange 
and  unprecedented  scene.  On  January  18, 
1 87 1,  in  the  Hall  of  Mirrors,  King  William  of 
Prussia  was  formally  proclaimed  Emperor  of 
a  new  German  Empire.  Ludwig  II.,  that  pic- 
turesque young  King  of  Bavaria,  in  the  name  of 
the  rest  of  the  German  states,  laid  their  united 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         241 

allegiance  at  his  feet,  and  begged  him  to  accept 
the  crown  of  a  united  Germany, 

Moved  by  his  colossal  misfortunes,  and  per- 
haps partly  in  displeasure  at  having  a  French 
republic  once  more  at  her  door,  England  offered 
asyl'um  to  the  deposed  emperor.  There,  from 
the  seclusion  of  Chiselhurst,  he  and  his  still 
beautiful  Eugenie  watched  the  republic  weath- 
ering the  first  days  of  storm  and  stress. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

Immediately  after  the  deposition  of  the 
emperor  a  third  Repubhc  of  France  was  pro- 
claimed, A  temporary  government  was  set  up 
under  the  direction  of  MM,  Favre,  Gambetta, 
Simon,  Ferry,  Rochefort,  and  others  of  pro- 
nounced repubHcan  tendencies. 

This  was  speedily  superseded  by  a  National 
Assembly  elected  by  the  people,  with  M.  Thiers 
acting  as  its  executive  head. 

During  the  siege  of  Paris  an  internal  enemy 
had  appeared,  more  dangerous,  and  proving  in 
the  end  far  more  destructive  to  the  city  than 
the  German  army  which  occupied  it. 

What  is  known  as  the  Paris  Commune  was 
a  mob  of  desperate  men  led  by  Socialistic  and 
Anarchistic  agitators  of  the  kind  which  at 
intervals  try  to  terrorize  civilization  to-day. 

The  ideas  at  the  basis  of  this  insurrection 
were  the  same  as  those  which  converted  a 
patriotic  revolution  into  a  "  Reign  of  Terror  " 
342 


\     A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         243 

In  1789,  and  Paris  into  a  slaughter-Kouse  in 
1792-93. 

•  Twice  during  the  siege  had  there  been  violent 
and  alarming  outbreaks  from  this  vicious  ele- 
ment; and  now  it  was  in  desperate  struggle 
with  the  government  of  M.  Thiers  for  control 
of  that  city,  which  they  succeeded  in  obtaining. 
M.  Thiers,  his  government,  and  his  troops  were 
established  at  Versailles ;  while  Paris,  for  tv\^o 
months,  was  in  the  hands  of  these  desperadoes, 
who  were  sending  out  their  orders  from  the 
Hotel  de  Ville. 

When  finally  routed  by  Marshal  MacMa- 
hon's  troops,  after  drenching  some  of  the  prin- 
cipal buildings  with  petroleum  they  set  them 
on  fire.  The  Tuileries  and  the  Hotel  de  Ville 
were  consumed,  as  were  also  portions  of  the 
Louvre,  the  Palais  Royal,  and  the  Palais  de 
Luxembourg,  and  the  city  in  many  places  de- 
faced and  devastated. 

The  insurrection  was  not  subdued  without 
a  savage  conflict,  ten  thousand  insurgents,  it 
is  said,  being  killed  during  the  last  week ;  this 
being  followed  by  severe  military  executions. 
Then,  with  some  of  her  most  dearly  prized 
historic  treasures  in  ashes,   and  monuments 


244         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

gone,  Paris,  scarred  and  defaced,  had  quiet  at 
last;  and  the  organization  of  the  third  repub- 
lic proceeded. 

The  uncertain  nature  of  the  repubHcan  sen- 
timent existing  throughout  France  at  this  crit- 
ical moment  is  indicated  by  the  character  of 
the  Assembly  elected  by  the  people.  More  than 
two-thirds  of  the  members  chosen  by  France 
to  organize  her  new  republic  were  monarchists! 

The  name  monarchist  at  that  time  compre- 
hended three  distinct  parties,  each  with  a 
powerful  following,  namely: 

The  Legitimists,  acting  in  the  interest  of 
the  direct  Bourbon  line,  represented  by  the 
Count  of  Chambord,  the  grandson  of  Charles 
X.,  called  by  his  party  Henry  V. 

The  Orleanists,  the  party  desiring  the  res- 
toration of  a  limited  monarchy,  in  the  person 
of  the  Count  of  Paris,  grandson  of  Louis 
Philippe. 

The  BoNAPARTiSTS,  w^hose  candidate,  after 
the  death  of  the  Emperor  Louis  Napoleon  in 
1873,  was  the  young  Prince  Imperial,  son  of 
Napoleon  IIL  [Napoleon  II.,  the  Duke  of 
Reichstadt,  had  died  in  1832.] 

M.  Thiers  had  not  an  easy  task  in  harmoniz- 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         245 

ing  these  various  despotic  types  with  each  other, 
nor  in  harmonizing  them  all  collectively  with 
the  republic  of  which  he  was  chief.  He  aban- 
doned the  attempt  in  1873,  and  Marshal  Mac- 
Mahon,  a  more  pronounced  monarchist  than 
he,  succeeded  to  the  office  of  president,  with  the 
Due  de  Broglie  at  the  head  of  a  reactionary 
ministry.  It  began  to  look  as  if  there  might 
be  a  restoration  under  some  one  of  the  three 
types  mentioned.  The  Count  of  Paris  gener- 
ously offered  to  relinquish  his  claim  in  favor 
of  the  Count  of  Chambord  (Henry  V.),  if  he 
would  accept  the  principles  of  a  constitutional 
monarchy,  which  that  uncompromising  Bour- 
bon absolutely  refused  to  do. 

In  the  meantime  republican  sentiment  in 
France  was  not  dead,  nor  sleeping.  Calamitous 
experiences  had  made  it  cautious.  Freedom 
and  anarchy  had  so  often  been  mistaken  for 
each  other,  it  was  learning  to  move  slowly,  not 
by  leaps  and  bounds  as  heretofore. 

Gambetta,  the  republican  leader,  once  so 
fiery,  had  also  grown  cautious.  A  patriot  and 
a  statesman,  he  was  the  one  man  who  seemed 
to  possess  the  genius  required  by  the  condi- 
tions and  the  time,  and  also  the  kind  of  mag- 


246         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCK 

netism  which  would  draw  together  and  crys- 
talHze  the  scattered  elements  of  his  party. 

It  was  the  stimulus  imparted  by  Gambetta 
which  made  the  government  at  last  republican 
in  fact  as  well  as  in  name;  and  as  reactionary 
sentiment  increased  on  the  surface,  a  republi- 
can sentiment  was  all  the  time  gathering  in 
volume  and  strength  below. 

The  death  of  the  prince  imperial,  in  1879, 
in  South  Africa,  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  im- 
perialists, as  the  Bonapartists  were  also  called, 
who  were  now  represented  by  Prince  Victor, 
the  son  of  Prince  Napoleon. 

Although  these  rival  princes  occupied  a 
large  place  upon  the  stage,  other  matters  had 
the  attention  of  the  government  of  France, 
which  moved  calmly  on.  The  establishing  of 
a  formal  protectorate  over  Algeria  belongs  to 
this  period. 

Ever  since  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  the  hand 
of  France  had  held  Algeria  with  more  or  less 
success.  The  Grand  Monarch  determined  to 
rid  the  Mediterranean  of  the  "  Barbary  pi- 
rates," with  which  it  was  infested,  and  so  they 
were  pursued  and  traced  to  their  lairs  in  Al- 
giers and  Tunis.    From  this  time  on  attempts 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         247 

were  made  at  intervals  to  establish  a  French 
control  over  this  African  colony.  During  the 
reign  of  Louis  Philippe  the  French  occupation 
became  more  assured,  and  under  the  Republic 
a  formal  protectorate  was  declared. 

In  1 88 1  Tunis  also  became  a  dependency  of 
France;  a  treaty  to  that  effect  being  signed 
bestowing  authority  upon  a  resident-general 
throughout  the  so-called  dominions  of  the  bey. 

The  fact  that  in  1878  France  participated 
in  the  negotiations  of  the  Congress  at  Berlin, 
shows  how  quickly  national  wounds  heal  at  the 
top!  And  further  proof  that  normal  conditions 
were  restored,  is  given  by  the  Universal  Ex- 
position, to  which  Paris  bravely  invited  the 
world  in  that  same  year. 

In  1879  M.  Grevy  succeeded  Marshal  Mac- 
Mahon.  It  was  during  M.  Grevy's  adminis- 
tration that  England  and  France  combined  in 
a  dual  financial  control  over  Egypt,  in  behalf 
of  the  interests  of  the  citizens  of  those  two 
countries  who  were  holders  of  Egyptian  bonds. 

But  the  event  of  profoundest  effect  at  this 
period  was  the  death  of  Gambetta  in  1882. 
The  removal  of  the  only  man  in  France  whom 
they  feared,  was  the  signal  for  renewed  activ- 


248         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

ity  among  the  monarchists,  which  found  ex- 
pression in  a  violent  manifesto,  immediately 
issued  by  Prince  Napoleon.  This  awoke  the 
apparently  dormant  republican  sentiment. 
After  agitated  scenes  in  the  Chamber,  Prince 
Napoleon  was  arrested;  and  finally,  after  a 
prolonged  struggle,  a  decree  was  issued  sus- 
pending all  the  Orleans  princes  from  their  mili- 
tary functions. 

Almost  immediately  after  this  crisis  the 
Count  of  Chambord  (Henry  V.)  died  at  Frohs- 
dorf,  August,  1883,  by  which  event  the  Bour- 
bon branch  became  extinct;  and  the  Legiti- 
mists, with  their  leader  gone,  united  with  the 
Orleanists  in  supporting  the  Count  of  Paris, 

A  small  war  with  Cochin-China  was  devel- 
oped in  1884  out  of  a  diplomatic  difficulty, 
which  left  France  witli  virtual  control  over  an 
area  of  territory,  including  Annam  and  Ton- 
quin,  in  the  far  East. 

In  1885  M.  Grevy  was  re-elected.  This 
was,  of  course,  construed  as  a  vote  of  approval 
of  the  anti-monarchistic  tone  of  the  adminis- 
tration.    So  republicanism  grew  bolder. 

There  had  been  an  increased  activity  among 
the  agents  of  the  monarchist  party,  which  found 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         249 

expression  in  demonstrations  of  a  very  sig- 
nificant character  at  the  time  of  the  marriage 
of  the  daughter  of  the  Count  of  Paris  to  the 
Crown  Prince  of  Portugal.  The  repubHcans 
were  determined  to  rid  France  of  this  unceas- 
ing source  of  agitation,  and  their  power  to  carry 
out  so  drastic  a  measure  as  the  one  intended 
is  proof  of  the  growth  which  had  been  silently 
going  on  in  their  party. 

The  government  was  given  discretionary 
power  to  expel  from  the  country  all  actual 
-claimants  to  the  throne  of  France,  with  their 
direct  heirs. 

The  Count  of  Paris  and  his  son,  the  Duke  of 
Orleans,  Prince  Napoleon  and  his  son.  Prince 
Victor,  were  accordingly  banished  by  presiden- 
tial decree,  in  June,  1886.  And  when  the  Duke 
of  Aumale  violently  protested,  he  too  was  sent 
into  banishment. 

In  1887  M.  Grevy  was  compelled  to  resign, 
on  account  of  an  attempt  to  shield  his  son-in- 
law,  who  was  accused  of  selling  decorations, 
lucrative  appointments,  and  contracts.  M. 
Sadi-Camot,  the  grandson  of  the  Minister  of 
War  of  the  same  name,  who  organized  the 
.armies  at  the  revolutionary  period,  was  a  re- 


250         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE 

publican  of  integrity  and  distinction,  and  was 
elected  by  the  combined  votes  of  radicals  and 
conservatives. 

Another  crisis  was  at  hand — a  crisis  difficult 
to  explain  because  of  the  difficulty  in  under- 
standing it. 

The  extraordinary  popularity  of  General 
Boulanger,  Minister  of  War,  a  military  hero 
who  had  never  held  an  important  command, 
nor  been  the  hero  of  a  single  military  exploit, 
seems  to  present  a  subject  for  students  of 
psychological  problems ;  but  his  name  became 
the  rallying-point  for  all  the  malcontents  in  both 
parties.  A  talent  for  political  intrigue  in  this 
popular  hero  made  it  appear  at  one  time  as  if 
he  might  really  be  moving  on  a  path  leading 
to  a  military  dictatorship. 

The  firmness  of  the  government  in  dealing 
with  what  seemed  a  serious  crisis,  was  followed 
by  the  swift  collapse  of  the  whole  movement, 
and  when  Boulanger  was  summoned  before  the 
High  Court  of  Justice  upon  the  charge  of  in- 
citing a  revolution,  he  fled  from  the  country, 
and  the  incident  was  closed. 

In  one  important  respect  the  Third  Republic 
differs  from  the  two  preceding  it.     A  consti- 


A  SHORT  HISTORY  OP  FRANCE.         251 

tution  had  hitherto  been  supposed  to  be  the 
indispensable  starting-point  in  the  formation 
of  a  government.  No  country  had  been  so 
prohfic  in  constitutions  as  France,  which,  since 
1790,  is  said  to  have  had  no  less  than  seventeen ; 
while  England,  since  her  Magna  Charta  made 
her  free  in  12 15,  had  had  none  at  all. 

An  eloquent  and  definite  statement  of  the 
rights  of  a  people  once  seemed  as  indispensable 
to  a  form  of  government  as  a  creed  to  a  relig- 
ious faith.  Perhaps  the  world,  as  it  grows 
wiser,  is  less  inclined  to  definite  statements 
upon  many  subjects!  Our  own  Constitution, 
probably  the  most  elastic  and  wisest  instru- 
ment of  the  kind  ever  created,  has  in  a  century 
required  sixteen  amendments  to  adapt  it  to 
changing  conditions. 

What  is  known  in  France  as  the  Constitu- 
tion of  1875,  ^^'  ^^  ^^c^'  ^  series  of  legislative 
enactments  passed  within  certain  periods  of 
time ;  these,  as  in  England,  serving  as  a  substi- 
tute for  a  Constitution  framed  like  our  own. 

The  French  may  have  done  wisely  in  trying 
the  English  method  of  substituting  a  body  of 
laws,  the  growth  of  necessity,  for  a  written 
constitution.    But  this  system,  reached  in  Eng- 


252         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

land  through  the  slowly  moving  centuries,  was 
adopted  in  France,  not  with  deliberate  purpose 
at  first,  but  in  order  to  avoid  the  clashing  of 
opposing  views  among  the  group  of  men  in 
charge  of  the  republic  in  its  inception;  men 
who,  while  ruling  under  the  name  of  a  republic, 
really  at  heart  disliked  it,  and  were,  in  fact, 
only  enduring  it  as  a  temporary  expedient  on 
the  road  to  something  better.  And  so  the  re- 
public drifted.  There  are  times  when  it  is  well 
to  drift;  and  in  this  case  it  has  proved  most 
isatisfactory. 

Not  alone  the  rulers,  but  the  nation  itself, 
was  in  doubt  as  to  the  sort  of  government  it 
wanted,  or  how  to  attain  it  after  it  knew.  It 
was  experimenting  with  that  most  difficult  of 
arts,  the  art  of  governing.  An  art  which  Eng- 
land had  been  centuries  in  learning,  how  could 
France  be  expected  to  master  in  a  decade? 
And  when  we  consider  the  conditions  and  the 
elements  with  which  this  inexperience  was  deal- 
ing, the  dangerous  element  at  the  top  and  the 
other  dangerous  element  beneath  the  surface, 
the  ambitions  of  the  princes,  and  the  volcanic 
fires  in  the  lowest  class ;  and  when  we  think  of 
the  waiting  nation,  hoping,  fearing,  expecting 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         253 

SO  much,  with  a  tremendous  war  indemnity  to 
be  paid,  while  their  hearts  were  heavy  over  the 
loss  of  two  provinces ;  when  we  recall  all  this, 
we  wonder,  not  that  they  made  mistakes  and 
accomplished  so  little,  but  that  the  government 
moved  on,  day  by  day,  step  by  step,  calmly 
meeting  crises  from  reactionaries  or  from  radi- 
cals, until  the  confidence  of  the  world  was  won, 
and  the  stability  of  republican  France  as- 
sured. 

From  1893  to  1896  was  a  period  of  colonial 
expansion  for  P>ance,  The  Kingdom  of  Da- 
homey in  Africa  was  proclaimed  a  French  pro- 
tectorate. Madagascar  was  subjugated,  and  in 
1895  the  Province  of  Hiang-Hung  was  ceded 
by  China. 

In  the  year  1894  Sadi-Carnot  was  assassi- 
nated in  the  streets  of  Lyons  by  an  anarchist, 
and  M.  Faure  succeeded  to  the  presidency. 

A  political  alliance  between  France  and  Rus- 
sia was  formed  at  this  time.  It  was  also  dur- 
ing the  presidency  of  M.  Faure  that  the  agi- 
tation commenced  in  consequence  of  what  is 
known  as  the  Affaire  Dreyfus. 

Captain  Alfred  Dreyfus,  an  Alsatian  and  an 
artillery  officer  upon  the  general  staff,  was  ac- 


254         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

cused  of  betraying  military  secrets  to  a  foreign 
power  (Germany).  He  was  tried  by  court- 
martial,  convicted,  sentenced  to  be  publicly  de- 
graded, having  all  the  insignia  of  rank  torn 
from  him,  then  to  suffer  perpetual  solitary  im- 
prisonment on  the  Isle  du  Diable,  off  the  coast 
of  French  Guiana. 

The  life  of  the  French  Republic  was  threat- 
ened by  the  profound  agitation  following  this 
sentence,  in  which  the  entire  civilized  world 
joined;  the  impression  prevailing  that  a  pun- 
ishment of  almost  unparalleled  severity  was 
being  inflicted  upon  a  man  whose  guilt  had 
not  been  proven. 

It  was  the  general  belief  that  the  bitter  en- 
mity of  the  French  army  staff  was  on  account 
of  the  Semitic  origin  of  the  accused  officer, 
and  that  his  being  an  Alsatian  opened  an  easy 
path  to  the  accusation  of  treasonable  acts  with 
Germany. 

The  trial  of  Captain  Dreyfus  was  conducted 
with  closed  doors,  and  the  sentence  was  rigor- 
ously carried  out. 

As  time  passed,  the  agitation  became  so  pro- 
found, and  the  public  demand  for  a  revision  of 
the  case  so  imperative,  that  the  French  court 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         255 

of  appeal  finally  took  the  matter  under  consid- 
eration. 

The  ground  upon  which  this  revision  was 
claimed  related  to  an  alleged  confession  and  to 
the  authorship  of  the  bordereau,  the  document 
which  had  been  instrumental  in  procuring  a 
conviction.  Upon  these  grounds  it  was  claimed 
that  the  judgment  pronounced  in  December, 
1894,  should  be  annulled. 

The  court  was  compelled  to  yield,  and  an 
order  was  issued  for  a  second  trial — a  trial 
which  resulted  in  revelations  so  damaging  to 
the  heads  of  the  French  army  that  a  revolu- 
tion seemed  imminent. 

The  accused  man,  wrecked  by  the  five  years 
on  the  Isle  du  Diable,  again  appeared  before 
his  accusers  in  the  military  court  at  Rennes. 
His  leading  counsel,  Labori,  was  shot  while 
conducting  his  case,  but,  as  it  proved,  not  fa- 
tally. The  conduct  of  the  trial  was  such  that 
the  dark  secrets  of  this  sinister  affair  were 
never  brought  from  their  murky  depths.  And 
with  neither  the  gtiilt  nor  the  innocence  of 
the  victim  proven,  the  amazing  verdict  was 
rendered,  "  Guilty,  with  extenuating  circum- 
stances." 


2^6         A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

Such  was  the  verdict  of  the  French  mihtary 
court.  That  of  public  opinion  was  different. 
It  was  the  unanimous  behef  among  other  na- 
tions that  the  case  against  this  unfortunate 
man  had  completely  collapsed.  But  in  order  to 
protect  the  French  army  from  the  disgrace 
which  was  inseparable  from  a  vindication  of 
Dreyfus,  he  must  be  sacrificed. 

The  sentence  pronounced  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  second  trial  was  imprisonment  in  a 
French  fortress  for  ten  years. 

This  sentence  was  remitted  by  President 
Loubet;  and,  with  the  brand  of  two  convic- 
tions and  the  memory  of  his  "  degradation  " 
and  of  Devil's  Island  burned  deep  into  his  soul, 
a  broken  man  was  sent  forth  free. 

Not  the  least  dramatic  incident  in  this  affair 
was  the  impassioned  championship  of  M.  Zola, 
the  great  novelist,  who  hurled  defamatory 
charges  at  the  courts  in  the  hope  of  being  placed 
under  arrest  for  libel,  and  thus  be  given  oppor- 
tunity to  establish  facts  repressed  by  the  mili- 
tary court.  By  the  French  law,  the  accused 
must  justify  his  defamatory  words,  and  this 
was  the  opportunity  sought. 

The  heroic  effort  was  not  in  vain.    Zola  was 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.         257 

found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  a  year's  impris- 
onment, which  he  avoided  by  going  into  exile. 
But  hght  had  been  thrown  upon  the  "  Affaire.'' 
And  he  was  content. 

Upon  the  sudden  death  of  M.  Faure  in  1899, 
Emile  Loubet,  a  lawyer  of  national  reputation, 
was  chosen  to  succeed  him,  and  his  adminis- 
tration commenced  while  this  storm  was  reach- 
ing its  final  culmination. 

With  the  release  of  Captain  Dreyfus  the 
agitation  subsided.  But  before  very  long  an- 
other storm-cloud  appeared. 

A  conflict  between  clericalism  and  the  Gov- 
ernment of  France  is  not  a  new  thing.  Indeed, 
it  was  at  its  height  as  long  ago  as  the  thirteenth 
century,  when  Philip  IV.  and  Pope  Boniface 
had  their  little  unpleasantness,  resulting  in 
Philip's  taking  the  popes  into  his  own  keeping 
at  Avignon,  and  in  the  issuance  of  a  "  Prag- 
matic Sanction,"  which  defended  France  from 
papal  encroachments. 

The  old  conflict  is  still  going  on,  and  will 
continue  until  the  last  frail  thread  uniting 
Church  and  State  is  severed. 

The  particular  contention  which  agitates 
France  to-day,  inaugurated  by  the  late  Minis- 


258         A    SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

ter  Waldeck-Rousseau,  and  continued  by  his 
successor,  M.  Combes,  had  its  origin  in  an  act 
called  the  "  Law  of  Associations,"  the  purpose 
of  which  was  to  restrict  the  political  power  of 
the  Church  by  means  of  the  suppression  of  re- 
ligious orders  of  men  and  women  upon  the  soil 
of  France. 

This  was  considered  an  act  of  extreme  op- 
pression and  tyranny  on  the  one  side,  and  as  a 
measure  essential  to  the  safety  of  the  republic 
on  the  other. 

In  support  of  their  contention  the  republican 
party  claimed  that  the  French  clergy  had  al- 
ways been  in  alliance  with  every  reactionary 
movement,  and  that  every  agitation  and  in- 
trigue against  the  life  of  the  Third  Republic 
had  had  clericalism  as  its  origin  and  disturbing 
cause.  Hence,  the  expulsion  of  the  religious 
orders  was  declared  to  be  essential  to  the  safety 
of  the  republic. 

But  the  Law  of  Associations  was  only  pre- 
liminary to  the  real  end  in  view,  which  was 
accomplished  in  December,  1905,  when  a  bill 
providing  for  the  actual  separation  of  Church 
and  State  was  passed  by  the  French  Senate. 
There  was  a  time  when  a  measure  so  revolu- 


A    SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  259 

tionary  would  have  opened  the  flood-gates  of 
passion,  and  let  loose  torrents  of  invective; 
and  the  calmness  with  which  it  was  debated 
in  the  French  Parliament  makes  it  manifest 
that  the  highest  intelligence  of  the  nation  had 
become  convinced  of  its  necessity.  The  bill 
provides  for  the  transfer  to  the  government 
of  all  church  properties.  This  change  of  own- 
ership necessitated  the  taking  of  inventories 
in  the  churches,  which  many  simple  and  de- 
vout people,  incapable  of  understanding  its 
political  meaning,  believed  was  a  religious  per- 
secution, and  resisted  by  force.  The  bill  re- 
cently passed  is  aimed  not  at  the  Church,  but  at 
*'  Clericalism,"  a  powerful  element  within  the 
Church,  which  has  been  determined  to  make  it 
a  political  as  well  as  a  spiritual  power.  With 
the  passage  of  this  bill  there  no  longer  exists 
the  opportunity  for  political  and  ecclesiastical 
intrigues,  which  have  made  the  Church  a 
hatching-ground  for  aristocratic  conspiracies. 
The  severance  now  accomplished  is  not  com- 
plete as  with  us.  Money  will  still  be  appro- 
priated from  the  public  treasury  for  the  main- 
tenance of  churches  in  France.  But  the  power 
derived  from  the  ownership  of  valuable  estates 


26o         A    SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

is  no  longer  in  the  hands  of  men  in  sympathy 
with  the  enemies  of  the  existing  form  of  gov- 
ernment. 

Another  matter  which  for  a  time  seemed  to 
threaten  the  peace  of  France  has  been  happily 
adjusted.  At  an  international  conference  held 
at  Algeciras,  for  the  purpose  of  considering 
the  demoralized  conditions  existing  in  the 
State  of  Morocco,  France  and  Germany  came 
so  sharply  in  collision  that  serious  consequences 
seemed  imminent,  consequences  which  might 
even  involve  all  of  Europe. 

France,  with  her  territory  adjoining  the  dis- 
turbed state,  and  her  long  Algerian  coast-line 
to  protect,  naturally  felt  that  she  was  entitled 
to  special  recognition;  while  Germany,  having 
invited  the  conference,  claimed  a  position  of 
leadership.  It  was  over  the  special  privileges 
desired  by  each  that  the  tension  between  these 
two  states  became  so  acute;  and  finally  the 
one  question  before  the  conference  was  whether 
France  or  Germany  should  be  the  custodian  of 
Morocco,  insure  the  safety  of  its  foreign  popu- 
lation, have  charge  of  its  finances,  and  be 
responsible  for  the  policing  of  its  coast.  Of 
course  the  nation  assigned  to  this  duty  would 


A   SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  261 

hold  the  predominant  influence  in  North  Af- 
rican affairs,  and  it  was  this  large  stake 
which  gave  such  intensity  to  the  game.  The 
final  award  was  given  to  France,  and  Germany, 
deeply  aggrieved  but  with  commendable  self- 
control,  has  accepted  the  decision. 

The  elections  recently  held  in  France  have 
afforded  an  opportunity  to  discover  the  senti- 
ment of  the  nation  concerning  the  policies, 
radical  and  almost  revolutionary,  which  have 
made  the  concluding  days  of  M,  Loubet's  in- 
cumbency an  epoch  in  the  life  of  France.  The 
result  has  been  an  overwhelming  vote  of  ap- 
proval. In  M.  Fallieres,  who  has  been  elected 
to  the  presidency,  there  is  found  a  man  even 
more  representative  of  a  new  France  than  was 
his  predecessor.  A  man  of  the  people,  the 
grandson  of  a  blacksmith,  a  lawyer  by  profes- 
sion, M.  Fallieres  has  been  identified  with 
every  important  movement  since  he  was  first 
elected  Deputy  in  1876;  has  been  eight  times 
Minister;  was  President  of  the  Senate  during 
the  seven  years  of  President  Loubet's  term  of 
office;  and  January  17,  1906,  was  elected  to 
the  highest  position  in  the  state.  The  appoint- 
ment of  M.  Sarrien,  with  his  well-known  sym- 


262  A    SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

pathies,  to  the  office  of  Prime  Minister,  sets 
at  rest  any  doubt  as  to  the  poHcy  initiated  by 
M.  Waldeck-Rousseau,  and  consummated  by 
M.  Combes. 

With  each  succeeding  administration  France 
has  gained  in  strength  and  stabiHty,  and  in  the 
self-control  and  calmness  which  make  for  both. 
The  government  and  the  people  have  learned 
that  the  spasmodic  way  is  not  a  wise  and  effec- 
tual way. 

The  monarchist  party  has  disappeared  as  a 
serious  political  factor.  There  is  peace,  ex- 
ternal and  internal.  And  there  is  prosper- 
ity— that  surest  guarantee  of  a  continued 
peace. 

One  source  of  the  phenomenal  prosperity  of 
France  in  this  trying  period  since  1871  has 
been  her  mastery  in  the  art  of  beauty.  Leading 
the  world  as  she  does  in  this,  her  art  products 
are  sought  by  every  land  and  every  people. 
The  nations  must  and  will  have  them;  and  so, 
with  an  assured  market,  her  industries  prosper, 
and  there  is  content  in  the  cottage  and  wealth 
in  the  country  at  large. 

What  a  change  from  the  time  less  than  four 
decades  ago,  when,  with  military  pride  hum- 


A    SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE.  263 

bled  in  the  dust,  with  national  pride  wounded 
by  the  loss  of  two  provinces,  and  loaded  down 
with  an  immense  war  indemnity,  the  people  set 
about  the  task  of  rehabilitation !  And  in  what 
an  incredibly  short  time  the  galling  debt  had 
been  paid,  financial  prosperity  and  political 
strength  restored. 

For  thirty-four  years  the  republic  has  ex- 
isted. Communistic  fires,  always  smouldering, 
have  again  and  again  burst  forth  —  dema- 
gogues, fanatics,  and  those  creatures  for  whom 
there  is  no  place  in  organized  society,  whose  ele- 
ment is  chaos,  standing  ready  to  fan  the  flames 
of  revolt :  with  Orleanist,  Bonapartist,  Bour- 
bon, ever  on  the  alert,  watching  for  opportunity 
to  slip  in  through  the  open  door  of  revolution. 

Phlegmatic  Teutons  and  slow-moving  An- 
glo-Saxons look  in  bewilderment  at  a  nation 
which  has  had  seven  political  revolutions  in 
a  hundred  years! 

But  France,  complex,  mobile,  changeful  as 
the  sea,  in  riotous  enjoyment  of  her  new-found 
liberties,  casts  off  a  form  of  government  as 
she  would  an  ill-fitting  garment.  She  knows 
the  value  of  tranquillity — she  had  it  for  one 
thousand  years!     The  people,  who  "lave  only 


264        A    SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 

breathed  the  upper  air  for  a  century — the  peo- 
ple, who  were  stifled  under  feudahsm,  stamped 
upon  by  Valois  kings,  riveted  down  by  Riche- 
heu,  then  prodded,  outraged,  and  starved  by 
Bourbons,  have  become  a  great  nation.  Many- 
sided,  resourceful,  gifted,  it  matters  not 
whether  they  have  called  the  head  of  their 
government  consul,  emperor,  king,  or  presi- 
dent. They  are  a  race  of  freemen,  who  can 
never  again  be  enslaved  by  tyrannous  system. 

There  may  be  in  store  for  France  new  revo- 
lutions and  fresh  overturnings.  Not  anchored, 
as  is  England,  in  an  historic  past  which  she 
reveres,  and  with  a  singularly  gifted  and  emo- 
tional people  who  are  the  sport  of  the  cur- 
rent of  the  hour,  who  can  predict  her  future! 
But  whatever  that  future  may  be,  no  American 
can  be  indifferent  to  the  fate  of  a  nation  to 
whom  we  owe  so  much.  Nor  can  we  ever 
forget  that  in  the  hour  of  our  direst  extremity, 
and  regardless  of  cost  to  herself,  she  helped  us 
to  establish  our  liberties,  and  to  take  our  place 
among  the  great  nations  of  the  earth. 


SOVEREIGNS  AND  RULERS  OF 
FRANCE. 


KINGS  OF  THE  FRANKS 
MEROVINGIAN  LINE 

A.  D. 

Clovis 496 

Thierry,  Clodomir,  Clothaire,  Childebert      .       .       .  511 

Clothaire 559 

Charibert,  Gontran,  Chilperic,  Sigheben      .       .       .  561 

Childebert 584 

Theodebert,  Thierry  II.,  Clothaire  III.        ...  596 

Dagobert 628 

Clovis  II.,  Sigheben  II 638 

Clothaire  III.,  Chilperic  IT 656 

Thierry  III.,  Dagobert  II 673 

Clov'is  III 690 

Childebert  III 695 

Dagobert  III 711 

Chilperic  III 716 

Thierry  IV 720 

Chilperic  IV 741 

CARLOVINGIAN  LINE 

Pepin 752 

Charlemagne 76S 

Louis  (The  D^bonnaire) 814 

KINGS  OF  FRANCE 

AFTER  DIVISION  OF  THE  EMPIRE 

Charles  (The  Bald) 843 

Louis  (The  Stammerer) 877 

265 


266    SOVEREIGNS  AND   RULERS  OF  FRANCE. 

A.  D. 

Louis  III.  and  Carloman 879 

Charles  (The  Fat) 884 

Hugh 887 

Charles  (The  Simple) 898 

Raoul 923 

Louis  IV 936 

Lothaire 954 

Louis  V. 986 


CAPETIAN  LINE 

Hugh  Capet 987 

Robert 996 

Henry  1 103 1 

Philip  1 1060 

Louis  VI.  (The  Fat) 1108 

Louis  VII.  (The  Young) 1137 

Philip  II.  (Philip  Augustus) 1180 

Louis  VIII 1223 

Louis  IX.  (The  Saint) 1226 

Philip  III.  (The  Hardy) 1270 

Philip  IV.  (The  Handsome) 1285 

Louis  X 1314 

Phihp  V 1316 

Charles  IV.  (The  Handsome) 1322 


VALOIS  BRANCH  OF  CAPETIAN  LINE 

Philip  VI.  (de  Valois) 1328 

John  (The  Pious) 1350 

Charles  V 1364 

Charles  VI 1380 

Charles  VII 1422 

Louis  XI 1461 

Charles  VIII 1483 


VALOIS— ORLEANS  BRANCH 
Louis  XII 1498 


SOVEREIGNS  AND   RULERS   OF  FRANCE.  267 
VALOIS— ANGOULEME 

A.   D. 

Francis  I •        •  ^S^S 

Henry  II i547 

Francis  II i559 

Charles  IX 1560 

Henry  III i574 

BOURBON  BRANCH 

Henry  IV 1589 

Louis  XIII -               -  1610 

Louis  XIV. o        .  1643 

Louis  XV -        -  1715 

Louis  XVI 1774 

FIRST  REPUBLIC,  1792 

FIRST  EMPIRE 

Napoleon  Bonaparte 1S04 

RESTORATION    OF    MONARCHY— BOURBON 

BRANCH 

Louis  XVIII 1814 

Charles  X 1824 

KING  OF  THE  FRENCH 

Louis  Philippe 1830 

SECOND  REPUBLIC,  1848 

SECOND  EMPIRE 

Louis  Napoleon 1852 

THIRD  REPUBLIC,  1871 

PRESIDENTS    OF   THIRD    REPUBLIC 

Adolphe  Thiers 187 1 

Marshal  MacMahon 1873 

Jules  Grevy 1879 

Sadi-Camot 1887 

Francois  Felix  Faure 1894 

EmQe  Loubet 1899 

Armand  Falli^res 1906 


INDEX. 


Abelard,  68,  69 
Academy,  The  French,  138 
African,  261 
Agincourt,  Battle  of,  89 
Albigensian  War,  66 
Alexander,  Emperor  of  Rxissia, 

213.  215 
Algeria,  246 
Algeciras,  260 
Alsace,  144,  240 
America,    158,    164-167,     175, 

176,  183,  196,  197,209,236 
Anglo-Saxons,  263 
Angouleme,  Duchesse  d',  216 
Anne  of  Austria,  142,  143 
Assembly,   National,    181-185, 

187-190, 230,  240,  242,  244 
Associations,  Law  of,  258 
Attila,  22 

Augsburg,  League  of,  154 
Aumale,  Duke  of,  249 
Aurelius,  Marcus,  14,  18,  20 
Austrasia,  31 
Austria,  142,  162,  198,  199,  202, 

203,  204,206,  211,  230,  233, 

234, 237, 238 


Babylonian  Captivity,  77 
Bastille,  The,  97,  141,  146,  184, 

Bayard,  Chevalier,  105 
Beauharnais,  Eugene,  212 
Beauharnais,    Hortense,     212, 

226 
Beauharnais,    Josephine,    207, 

208,  213 
Bismarck,  238,  240 
Black  Prince,  82-84 
Blanche  of  Castile,  69,  70,  73 
Blenheim,  Battle  of,  156 
Bliicher,  219 
Bonaparte,  Jerome,  212 
Bonaparte,  Joseph,  212 
Bonaparte,  Louis,  212,  229 
Bonaparte,  Napoleon,  171,  172, 

203-215,  218-220,  224 
Bonapartists,  244,  246,  263 
Boulanger,  General,  250 
Bourbon,  Antony  de,  116-118 
Bourbons,    116-118,   129,   244, 

263,  264 
Bourgeoisie,  81,  100 
Bretigny,  Treaty  of,  83 


269 


ayo 


INDEX. 


Britain,  2 
Burgesses,  58 

Burgundy,  Duke  of,  85-89,  97, 
105 

Caesar,  Julius,  10-12,  15 

Calais,  79 

Campo  Formio,  Treaty  of,  205, 

206 
Capet,  Hugh,  48 
Carlovingian  Kings,  31-48 
Carnot,  249,  253 
Chalons,  Battle  of,  22 
Chambord,  Count  of,  244,  245, 

248 
Charlemagne,  36,  45 
Charles  Martel,  31,  34 
Charles  V,  83-85 
Charles  VI,  85-88 
Charles  VII,  90-96,  98 
Charles  VIII,  101-104 
Charles  IX,  119,  128 
Charles  X,  172,  221,  222,  223 
Christianity,  14-23,  32-34.  49" 

Church  and  State,  258 
Cinq  Mars,  141 
Clericalism,  258,  259 
Clovis,  10,  24—27,  29 
Cochin-China,  War  with,  248 
Colbert,  146,  148,  152 
Coligny,  Admiral,  1 15-124 
Combes,  258,  262 
Committee    of   Public    Safety, 

191, 199 
Commune,  The,  242,  243 


Conciergerie,  191,  193,  199 
Concini,  135,  136 
Conde,  144,  148 
Consulate,  208-210 
Corday,  Charlotte,  191,  192 
Cr^cy,  Battle  of,  79 
Crimean  War,  232 
Crusades,  42,  59-61,  63,  68,  73, 
74,75 

Dahomey,  253 
Danton,  191,  200 
Dauphin,  80 

DesmouUns,  Camille,  184 
Directory,  203,  206-208 
Donation  of  Pepin,  34 
Dreyfus,  Affaire,  253-258 
Dreyfus,  Alfred,  353,  257 
Druidism,  14,  20 
Dumouriez,  198,  199 

Edward  III  of  England,  79,  82 

Egypt,  206,  207,  247 

Elba,  215 

Elizabeth,  Princess,  189,  195, 
197 

Enghien,  Duke  d',  209 

England,  41,  53,  61-64,  79,  82, 
no.  III,  154,  164,  165,  175, 
176,  202,  203,  206,  209,  213, 
219,  220,  241,  247,  251 

Eugenie,  Empress,  235,  238, 
240 

Fallibres,  261 
Faure,  253,  257 


INDEX. 


271 


Feudal  System,  42,  44-46,  85, 

98 
Flanders,  108,  149 
Fontenay,  Battle  of,  40 
Fouquet,  147 
Fouquier-Tinville,  191 
Francis  I,  106-112 
Francis  II,  116 
Francis  Joseph,  211,  213 
Franks,  23 
Freemen,  57 
French  Parliament,  269 
French  Senate,  258 
Fronde,  143 

Galigai,  Eleonora,  135-137 

GalUcia,  7 

Gambetta,  245-247 

Gaul,  2-4,  II,  24 

Gauls,  4 

Genevieve,  23 

Germany,  40,  41,  108,  iii,  155, 

156,  210,  211,  212,  214,  238- 

241, 254,  260,  261 
Girondists,  187-189,  193,  197- 

200 
Godfrey  of  Boulogne,  60 
Goths,  8,  12,  22,  23 
Greece,  3,  7 
Gr^vy,  247-249 

Guesclin,  Bertrand  du,  83,  84 
Guise,  Duke  of,  115-129 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  138,  142 

Hapsburgs,  133,  142,  146,  158, 
214,238 


Henr>'  II,  115,  116 
Henry  III,  128, 129 
Henry  (IV)   of  Navarre,   120, 

121, 123, 128-134 
Henry  V  of  England,  89,  90 
Holland,  150,  151,  153,  212 
Holy  Roman  Empire,  39,  108, 

133. 211 
Huguenots,  117,  118,  120-131, 

137,  141,  152,  153 
Huns,  22 

Indemnity,  253 
IrenaFius,  14 

Italy,  41,  74,  101-103,  105,  106, 
204—206,  212,  230,  233—235 

Jacobins,  187-189,  199 
Jena,  Battle  of,  211 
Joan  of  Arc,  91-95 
John,  King,  80-83 

Kelts,  2—4,  12 

Knights  Templar,  77,  189 

Kymrians,  7 

Lafayette,    Marquis    de,    183, 

185,  187,  188,222 
Lamartine,  225 
La  Rochelle,  Siege  of,  141 
Latin  Quarter,  69 
Law,  John,  161 
Legitimists,  244,  248 
Leipsic,  Battle  of,  215 
Lombards,  34,  38 
Lorraine,  240 


272 


INDEX. 


Lothaire,  40 

Loubet,  Emile,  256,  257,  261 

Louis  the  Debonnaire,  40 

Louis  VI,  58,  59 

Louis  VII,  57,  61,62 

Louis  VIII,  69 

Louis  IX,  69-73 

Louis  XI,  96,  98,  loi 

Louis  XII,  104,  105 

Louis  XIII,  135,  136,  139-142, 

148 
Louis  XIV,  143, 145-159,  246 
Louis  XV,  159-173,  181 
Louis  XVI,  133,  172,  174,  175, 

177-190,  197,  216 
Louis   XVIII,    172,    197,   208, 

216-218,  220, 221 
Louis  Philippe,  172,  198,  199, 

222-226,  247 
Louisiana,  209 
Louvois,  148 
Lutetia,  13 
Luynes,  Albert  de,  136 

MacMahon,  Marshal,  243,  247 
Madagascar,  253 
Macjenta,  Battle  of,  233 
Mahometanism,  32-34 
Mairc  du  Palais,  27,  31 
Marat,  184,  191,  192 
Maria  Louisa,  214,  215 
Maria    Theresa,    Empress    of 

Austria,  161 
Marie  Antoinette,  164, 172, 174, 

186, 193-195,  197 
Marignano,  Battle  of,  106 


Massillia,  5 

Mazarin,   Cardinal,    143,    144, 

146 
Medici,  Catharine  de',  115-128 
Medici,  Marie  de',    134,   135, 

140 
Meroveus,  23,  24 
Merovingian  Kings,  23-34,  46, 

48 
Metz,  Surrender  of,  239 
Mexico,  236,  237 
Mirabeau,  182,  183 
Moltke,  239,  240 
Monarchists,  262 
Monroe  Doctrine,  236,  237 
Morocco,  260 
Murat,  212 


Nantes,  Edict  of,  131,  133,  141, 

146, 152, 158 
Napoleon  Bonaparte,  171,  172, 

203-215,  218—220,  224 
Napoleon    (III),    Louis,    226, 

227,  229-239,  241 
Napoleon,    Prince,    246,    248, 

249 
Necker,  178 
Neustria,  31 
Ney,  Marshal,  218,  220 
Normandy,  47,  53,  54,  62,  64, 

66 
Normans,  44,  47 
Northmen,  42,  44,  45,  47,  48, 

S3 
Nymwegen,  Peace  of,  149,  151 


INDEX. 


273 


Orleanists,  244,  248,  263 
Orleans,  Duke  of,  86-89,  io5' 

141,  159,  172,  182,  183,  222, 

249 

Paris,  Count  of,  244,  245,  248, 

249 
Paris,  Siege  of,  240,  242,  243 
Pepin,  31.34,  35>  48 
Peter  the  Hermit,  59,  60 
Philip  Augustus,  62-67 
Philip  III,  75 
Philip  IV,  75-78 
Philip  VI,  78 
Philippe  Egalitd,  184,  198,  199, 

222 
Poitiers,  Battle  of,  82 
Pope,  The,  34,  35,  37-39,  49, 

59,  60,  65,  75-77,   107,  113, 

155,210,235,257 
Pragmatic  Sanction,  107,  162 
Prince  Imperial,  244,  246 
Protestantism,     in,     112-114, 

138,142,153,158.238 
Provence,  5,  65,  66, 70 
Prussia,  142,  155,  203,  211,  237 

Ravaillac,  134 

Raymond  VII  of  Toulouse,  65, 

66,  70 
Reformation,  The,  in,  113 
Republic,  Second,  225-231 
Republic,  Third,  242  et  seq. 
Revolution,  French,   166,   167, 

179-301 


Revolutionary   Tribunal,    189, 

193 
Rheinbund,  211 
Richelieu,   Cardinal,    137-143, 

167, 263 
Robert  the  Strong,  48,  49 
Robespierre,  183,  191,  200 
Rois  Faifteants,  29,  30,  47 
Romans,  5-7 
Rome,  5-8,  10-14 
Rousseau,  170,  171 
Russia,  41,  203,  213,  214,  232, 

253 
Ryswick,  Treaty  of,  149 


Sadi-Carnot,  249,  253 

St.  Bartholomew,  Massacre  of, 

123-128 
St.  Helena,  220 
Salic  Law,  27,  78,  79,  129,  146, 

161 
Sarrien,  261 
Sedan,  Battle  of,  240 
Serfs,  46,  57 
Simon,  195 

Solferino,  Battle  of,  234 
Spain,  41,   69,    105,    108,    122, 

123,  133,  142,  146,  149,  158, 

165,     202,     209,     212,     221, 

238 
Spanish  Succession,  War  of  the, 

15s 
States-General,  76,  81,  82,  84, 

^3:i<  135. 179 

Stuart,  Marie,  115,  116,  118 


274 


INDEX. 


Sully,  Duke  of,  132,  133 
Swiss  Guard,  188 

Talleyrand,  218 

Temple,  The,  189,  195 

Teutons,  263 

Thiers,  228,  242,  243,  244 

Third  Republic,  258 

Tiers  Etat,  56,  76,  82,  133,  179, 

181,  183 
Tilsit,  Peace  of  212 
Toulouse,  65,  66,  70 
Tours,  Battle  of,  34 
Troycs,  Treaty  of,  89 
"Truce  of  God,"  51,  60 
Turenne,  144,  148 
Turgot,  177,  178 

Utrecht,  Treaty  of,  149 


Valois,  264 

Varennes,  188 

Verdun,  Treaty  of,  40,  41 

Versailles,   147,  152,   156,   163, 

165,  178,  182,  186,  187,  235, 

240,  243 
Villafranca,  Peace  of,  234 
Visigoths,  26 
Voltaire,  162,  169 

Waldeck-Rousseau,  258,  262 
Waterloo,  Battle  of,  219 
Wellington,  Duke  of,  219 
William,  Duke  of  Normandy, 

54 
Williams,  Eleazer,  196 

I   Zola,  257 


3   1158  00042  6063 
AA    b6o"978"304     4 


